Playing the Fool
by A Lonely Silhouette
Summary: Complete revamp coming soon! Edith has always admired the Weasleys despite the fact that she's a diehard Slytherin. Never knowing a warm and loving family, she envies their way of life. Will she be able to resist the charms of a certain member of the Weasley clan, or will she play the fool? What will her family do when they realize she's head over heels for the blood-traitor's son?
1. Chapter 1

**PLAYING THE FOOL**

"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." –Shakespeare's _As You Like It_

Edith Ainsley sat lounging on a stone bench in the courtyard on a warm spring Wednesday afternoon lazily scanning the cloudless sky. There was a gentle breeze floating about that carried with it the scent of sweet blooming flowers. Edith had loosened her tie and rolled the sleeves of her button up around her elbows trying to enjoy the lovely spring air. The courtyard was buzzing with noise as her fellow peers soaked up the sunny weather right along with her.

"Edith? Are you all right?" a sweet and tender voice next to her asked.

Edith had been staring at the sky for quite some time, lost in a daydream. "Oh, yes. I'm fine," Edith replied as she rubbed a lingering tiredness from her eyes and stretched lazily. "It's just such a beautiful day!" she said as she let out long sigh and admired the goings-on of that fine spring afternoon. Classes were done for the day and everyone was out and about. Smiles were everywhere and laughter could be heard from all corners of the courtyard. In that moment, the ever present fear of Sirius Black's unknown whereabouts had been swept away by the flowery breeze.

"What would you like to do the rest of the day, Lav?" Edith asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling at Lavender Brown. She wasn't the brightest of witches at school, but she was friendly enough considering. Before Lavender could answer, a rambunctious group of boys approached them.

"Excuse me ladies, but we were just wondering if you could help us for a moment."

"You see, we've broken our spy glass, and we were hoping you could help us repair it? The slide seems to be stuck, just there," the redheaded boys inquired.

"Fred, George, you don't really think I'm going to fall for one of your stupid pranks, do you?" she asked as she brushed them off and began to leave the courtyard. Lee Jordan elbowed one of the twins in the ribs and they followed after Edith and Lavender.

"You've got it all wrong, see!" George began. "This is Fred's favorite thing in the world! He's heartbroken about it, really." Fred looked over at Edith and pouted his lower lip.

"Won't you just give it a look?" Fred asked.

Edith put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the boys. Lee stood to the side as he watched. "You have to promise me it won't shock me or leave ink on my eye when I look at it," she said firmly. She'd seen those items at Zonko's and knew Fred and George were prone to using them on unsuspecting Slytherins.

"We promise! Cross our hearts and hope to die," they said in synchronization, both drawing an imaginary line over their chests. Edith was still wary of the small telescope, but she extended her hand and rolled her eyes. "All right. Let me see it."

Edith pushed her chestnut brown hair behind her ear and began fiddling with the looking glass. It was fairly short and didn't have many slides, only two. The last slide wouldn't extend the full length. "Hm," Edith hummed to herself. She twisted and pulled and jiggled it but the darn thing just wouldn't budge. Edith gave up on fixing it without magic and reached for her wand. It was a lovely light brown oak, 9 inches, with unicorn hair core. She waved it and said, "Repairo!" She tucked her wand into the waist of her skirt and fiddled with the item once more.

"Ah, there you are!" she said as she pulled the slide out. She put it up to her eye and looked through the telescope out at the grounds. Everything seemed to be in working order. Just as she was about to lower it, a hidden slide extended very forcefully right into her eye. The telescope fell from her hands as she cupped her eye and yelled in pain.

Lavender gasped and Lee began laughing loudly. The twins held their breath as they watched as Edith dropped her hands and glared at them. A large purple bruise was already forming around her right eye. The many faces hanging around the courtyard trained their eyes Edith and giggles could be heard bubbling from the crowd. The boys began laughing in earnest and nearly fell to the ground reveling in their triumph, their red hair shinning like new pennies in the sun.

"Why, you ungrateful-!" Edith bellowed, unable to finish her insult as she watched the boys celebrate.

"Looks like you were right, Fred!" George laughed as they watched Edith become redder and redder as her anger began boiling over. "Right? Right about what?" she spat.

Lee held himself up against his knees and was patting his thigh trying to catch his breath as he explained, "He said you would be the easiest Slytherin in the lot to trick, but the look on your face would be priceless! I have to say, you were spot on Fred!" Lee slapped Fred on the back. A look of guilt spread across Fred's face as he watched Edith. She looked horrified and absolutely furious all at once. She glared at Fred, and suddenly, she looked as dangerous as a wounded snake. "You'll regret this, Fredrick Weasley!" Her words were dripping with venom. George and Lee were still wracked with laughter, but Fred began to walk toward Edith.

"Hold on," he said. "I can he-," he began as he fiddled with something in his robes, but Edith took off running toward the castle.

Lavender turned toward the boys and looked at them in complete disbelief. "What's wrong with you?" she shot at Fred in particular. "She's the easiest to prank because she's one of the nicest people I know! You should be ashamed," she said as she glared at them shaking her head. She followed after Edith and disappeared into the castle.

"Edith, wait for me!" called Lavender. Edith started down into the dungeons. She wanted to get as far away from everyone as possible. The bruise on her eye was a bright and ugly purple. Edith motioned for Lavender to follow her. They stood in the dungeons corridor and spoke quietly.

"I'm so sorry about that, Edith. They are perfectly horrible," she said all the while looking absolutely shocked.

"Don't worry about it," Edith said while shaking her head. "I meant it when I told him he'd regret making me the target of their pranks." Edith bent close to Lavender and said, "Listen, here's what we're going to do-"

Fred and George walked through the castle busily chatting about the outcomes of their bets and games as they headed to dinner in the Great Hall, though they were stopped in their tracks as a very distraught looking Lavender rushed across the corridor in their direction.

"You two!" she yelled at the boys. Fred and George stopped and examined the frazzled Lavender. "You must come quickly! It's Edith. She's locked herself in the girls' bathroom ever since you played that awful joke on her," Lavender explained.

"Well, that's not really our problem is it?" George said. "It was just a joke. Nothing to cry about. It can easily be fixed, you know?"

Fred pulled out a small metal canister from his robes. "Yeah. I was trying to give her some of this before she took off. It's to get rid of the bruise," he told Lavender.

Lavender started fiddling with her hands. "Well, you know, she might not have taken it so harshly if she didn't have a crush on Fred," she said as she sighed. "The fact that it was you that did it is what upset her so much."

Fred's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "Blimey, way to go mate!" George said slapping him hard on the back.

"What? Why on earth does she have a crush on me?" Fred asked, still stunned. They had hardly spoken to each other before. They were once partners in potions class for an assignment, but besides that, Edith had barely said a few words of greeting to the twins in all their years of school together.

Lavender shook her head and threw her arms in the air. "Don't ask me!" she yelled. "Just go and apologize. The poor girl is distraught," she said with a scolding tone.

George shrugged his shoulders and began walking toward the Great Hall. "It's you she likes. It's got nothing to do with me. See ya Freddie!"

Fred sighed and looked at Lavender. "All right, show me to her then," he said as he made a shooing motion with his hands. Lavender led the way to the second floor girls' bathroom with a nervous looking Fred trailing behind her.

They made it to entrance of the bathroom and Lavender stepped aside. "Here we are! Now, get in there!"

"I can't go in there! It's the GIRLS' bathroom. Are you insane?" Fred said as his voice continuously rose higher and higher.

"Everyone's at dinner. No one will know," Lavender explained. "You're the only one that can fix this. It is your fault, after all."

Fred looked absolutely horrified as he stepped up to the door. The closer he got, the more he could hear the sounds of echoing cries seeping through the door. The sound of her breaking heart seemed to spur him through the door. He entered with a very concerned look on his face, but it soon turned to pure horror.

Upon entering the bathroom, the sound of Edith's crying ceased almost immediately. "Edith?" he called. The door shut behind him and a resounding click came from the lock. He turned around to find that Lavender had followed him into the bathroom and was blocking the exit. "What is this?" he asked, turning back toward the stalls. A stall door swung open, and Edith stepped out with a silent laugh on her face.

"Gotcha," she said. In that moment, she looked as if she had all the power in the world. She was absolutely terrifying. Fred was visibly shaken.

"Come on," Fred said. "Can't we just talk this over, ladies?" He tried to smile.

Edith held her wand high, "Immobulus!"

Before he knew it, Edith's charm had hit him and he couldn't move an inch. She began moving closer to him. Her stride was like a cat's, long and graceful and intimidating. "I told you, you'd regret what you did," she said as she took hold of his shirt. "Help me move him Lav."

Lavender and Edith drug him over into one of the stalls and bound him to the toilet. "Oh, I almost forgot! He's got something in his robes that can get rid of your bruise!" Lavender told Edith sweetly. Lavender bent down and grabbed the small canister from his robes and handed it to Edith.

"Oh, thank you Lav!" She took the container, opened it, and generously dabbed some of the paste onto her bruised eye. It wasn't very pleasant. It was a sickly yellow and had a strange smell, but Edith didn't mind as long as it got rid of the bruise. She tucked it back into his robes before she released him from the charm.

As soon as the charm was removed, Fred started to say something but Edith waved her wand and said, "Langlock!" Fred's mouth immediately went rigid as his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and rendered him unable to speak.

"I don't know why you and your brother find it so hilarious to constantly mess with my house mates, but let me tell you… If anyone were to ever cross me or my loved ones, I'd want a Slytherin on my side. Believe it or not, we're not all evil." She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Fred begged to differ, for at that moment, he'd never been so intimidated by person in his whole life than he was of Edith. She was the picture of a vengeful villain if he'd ever seen one. He most assuredly regretted targeting her in their games. Edith began backing out of the stall. "Just remember, when you cross a Slytherin, be ready to deal with the consequences."

"Come on Lav. We've still got time for dinner," she called as the two girls left the bathroom.

* * *

 **A/N**

Background: This story begins in the 5th year for Fred and George (3rd for Harry). I'm playing off of a scene that actually occurred in the 6th book between Fred and Hermione with the boxing telescope incident at their shop.

I know Lavender seems a little out of place as Edith's friend, but I don't feel like coming up with another OC, and Lavender is pretty easy to write. Plus, it gets across the fact that Edith can be friends with anyone really.

Well, I really hope you guys like it so far! Let me know if it's worth continuing. Reviews and messages are always welcome!

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"She's beautiful, and therefore to be wooed; She is woman, and therefore to be won" -Shakespeare's _Henry V_

Dinner that evening was short for Edith. She took her seat at Slytherin table by some of the quidditch players. Adrian Pucey immediately scooted closer to her and began chatting, leaving his previous conversation with Bletchley and Montague. Two other girls were also giggling along with them. Edith didn't seem to pay much attention to what Adrian said, but nodded her head politely and smiled occasionally when he would pause. She had been paying particular attention to the Gryffindor table. Her eyes scanned the table up and down.

Lavender sat looking quite nervous as she ate next to a vivacious pack of Gryffindor girls, all laughing and gossiping dinner away. Edith watched her as she looked up and found George rounding on her. They exchanged words briefly and George left the Great Hall right afterwards. Edith made eye contact with Lavender. She widened her eyes and shrugged her shoulders at Edith. Lavender had been quite hesitant about tricking Fred knowing that, sooner or later, someone was going to find him and turn him in to the teachers where he would probably snitch on them.

Dinner ended and the students left for their dormitories. Everything seemed to be going without a hitch until a very serious looking professor McGonagall came trotting down the stairs with a very flustered redhead in tow.

"Excuse me! Ms. Ainsley!" she called firmly but sweetly.

Edith began walking to her, accepting her fate. "Yes professor?" she answered.

Professor McGonagall stopped before her and plopped Fred in front of her, holding him by the tip of his ear. "Care to explain to me why a first year found Mr. Weasley tied and bound to a second floor girls' toilet?" she asked, her eyebrows raised suspiciously and curiously.

Edith stood up straight and looked her dead in the eye, "I bound him to the toilet, professor."

"Might I ask why, dear?" McGonagall continued.

"Well, it's a rather long story, you see. The point is, I did it and that's what matters, correct?" Edith asked still keeping direct eye contact and being as respectful as possible.

"Right you are, dearie. Are you sure you wouldn't like to tell me what on earth provoked you to do this? Surely Mr. Weasley has made some grave error for you to do such a thing," she said, tugging Fred's ear enough to make him wince.

"No, professor. I would like to accept my punishment and be done with it, if that's all right." Professor McGonagall nodded her head and said, "Detention in the trophy room tonight with Mr. Filch will do, I think. You'll be joining her, Mr. Weasley. I don't know what you did, but I'm sure it merits punishment. A little team work will do you two good. I'll inform Mr. Filch." She let go of Fred's ear and began walking off. "I suggest you both go there straight away. Ten points each will be taken from your houses. Good night!" She trotted off and disappeared down a corridor.

Fred glared at Edith and began walking off to the trophy room without saying a word. Edith followed quietly behind him.

They entered the room and stood there silently waiting for Mr. Filch. It seemed like forever, but finally he walked into the room and handed both of them rags and some goop to polish the trophies. "You know the rules. No magic. Now get to rubbing!" he said as he sniggered at them and pulled up a chair to sit in.

They started at opposite ends of the room. They worked silently and quickly at first, but as the night wore on, they grew sleepy and sluggish. Mr. Filch was dozing in and out of sleep. He would jolt awake with a loud snort and zero in on them as to make sure they were doing what they were told. He'd then fall back asleep and snore loudly, filling the room with a guttural noise.

Closer and closer they inched toward each other until they were working side by side.

"Why didn't you snitch on me?" Fred asked incredulously. He had stopped polishing a rather large and clunky trophy to look at Edith.

"Why _did_ you rat on me?" Edith asked pointedly. "You know you very well deserved what you got," she said as she continued to polish her medal as if the conversation were not all that important.

"And how exactly do you figure that?" Fred had a look of disgust on his face.

"I specifically asked you if that telescope was a prank, and still-," but Fred cut her off. "No, you made us promise it wouldn't shock you or leave ink on your eye. And it didn't, did it?" Edith rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"I should never have come to check on you! I don't know why I even cared," Fred whispered hotly.

"I seem to remember you taking advantage of my kindness as well, you bloody ginger." Edith dropped the medal in her lap and began imitating the boys, "Please, it's Fred's favorite thing in the world! Cross our hearts it won't humiliate you!" she said stupidly. "Ha!" she exclaimed, "What a load of rubbish!"

"If you would have just let me give you the stupid bruise removal paste before you ran off-," Fred started to defend but Edith cut in, "The damn paste wouldn't have made a difference! You humiliated me in front of the whole courtyard, you idiot!" The last words were louder than she had meant, and Filch snorted loudly as he jolted awake at the sudden noise. The both of them dropped their heads and pretended as if nothing happened. They wiped and wiped until Filch lulled back into a deep sleep.

They sat there permeating in the awkwardness of the situation and dwelled on their irritation. Each of them would cut their eyes in the other's direction with anger in their gaze, but also confusion as well. A questioning quirk in the corner of their eye could be seen as they secretly watched each other work.

Fred paused again and looked up at Edith who continued to polish a small bronze trophy. "You never told me why you didn't tell McGonagall what I did," he whispered.

Edith rubbed the trophy hard and continued to avoid eye contact with Fred. "I don't know. I suppose I felt I deserved punishment. What I did was cruel, but it was just as cruel what you did to me, you know?" Edith shrugged her shoulders and continued, "I only wanted to help you." Edith finally looked at him as she spoke, "I don't know why I played right into your trick. I always avoided you and your brother for just that reason. I knew you liked playing jokes on Slytherins, so I avoided you all these years." Fred watched her with a funny look on his face as he realized what she was saying. Edith spoke low and embarrassed, "I thought, maybe, since you never targeted me in particular before, you might really just want my help." She shook her head and laughed quietly, "I'm so foolish."

Edith looked over at Fred again. He sat very still and had a look of slight confusion on his face. "I thought you two had this sort of code of honor or something about snitching," Edith said almost questioningly.

Fred looked up at her and gaped, "Yeah, and I thought Slytherins would do anything to keep their house from losing points, but looks like we were both wrong, hm?" Fred sneered at her in defensiveness, losing what little pity he had for her moments before.

"So, you did it to keep your house from losing points?" Edith smiled at him.

Fred stopped sneering and looked disappointed in himself. "You know McGonagall. She threatened to take fifty points from her own house!" Fred shook his head, "Caught her on a bad night, I s'pose." He looked back up at Edith and smiled. "Looks like there's a bit of Slytherin in us all, much as I hate to say it."

Edith sighed loudly, "There you go again with the Slytherin insults!" Edith laughed slightly and a look of realization came over her. "Thanks for not ratting on Lavender. She was really scared she'd get her house in trouble. It was entirely my idea, after all," Edith frowned.

"Well, 'course I wasn't going to turn in someone from Gryffindor. The whole reason I snitched on you was to keep from losing more points, you numpty," he snorted happily as he laughed.

They worked with a renewed vigor after their unsaid truce. For a while they continued on quietly but happily until they ran out of trophies to polish. With their work done, Edith began to put away her final trophy and wake Mr. Filch.

"Hold on," Fred called from his spot on the floor. "Can I ask you something?" he asked with an amused curiosity playing on his face.

"Sure," Edith replied as she walked over to him. Fred stood up to look her in the face.

He narrowed his eyes at her as if paying close attention. "Lavender said something peculiar when she tried to convince me to come after you," he said with a quirk of his lips. Edith narrowed her eyes at him in turn and looked suspicious. "What might that be?" she asked quietly.

Fred continued to stare at her intently as he continued, "She said that the reason you were so upset was you fancy me."

Edith's mouth dropped open and she gaped at Fred despite her resolve to hold her poker-face. "Excuse me?" she said rather high pitched. She turned toward Mr. Filch, but he continued to snore contentedly in his chair. She turned back to Fred quickly and shot, "Is this some sort of joke? You think because you got me to laugh, I'm going to just let you make a fool of me all you like?" Edith huffed. "You've got another thing coming, Fred Weasley." Edith grew hotter and hotter in her robes and decided on having a long chat with Lavender about her luring tactics in the morning. "Let me tell you! No amount of your witty charm is going to woo me!" Edith began to stalk off toward Mr. Filch, but Fred grabbed hold of her arm and twisted her toward him. Her body flew to him and she started to yelp, but he placed a very warm hand over her mouth and bent over her. He looked down at her with shaded eyes beneath his coppery hair. Edith had never seen this side of him.

"Care to make a bet on it?" Fred asked, eyebrows raised smirking all the while.

Fred moved his hand from her mouth, and she gasped, "You're on." Something about Fred made Edith feel as if she was on fire. Her heart railed against her ribs. He stirred up a defiance in her that she never knew existed.

Fred laughed and said, "You sure? I never lose a bet, you know." The look on his face was full of confidence.

Edith stood on her own feet and dusted herself off. "I said, you're on."

Fred shrugged his shoulders and continued, "All right then. Ten sickles says you'll fall for my _witty charm_ , let's say, before graduation."

Edith laughed, "Ten sickles? Is that all true love is worth to you?"

"Fine. One galleon. Deal?" Fred held his hand out.

Edith sighed, "Deal." She took his hand and squeezed it firmly as they shook on it.

"I'm sorry about tricking you. Really, I am," Fred said matter-of-factly as he released her hand. Edith stood stock-still as she examined him. His sincerity was apparent in the regretful look on his face.

"Don't worry about it. Just, don't ever do it again," she said firmly but kindly.

"Only if you promise to stop avoiding us," he said softly as he looked at Edith and fluttered his lovely shining eyes.

Edith shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Don't start giving me those big brown teary eyes of yours. It's going to take a lot more than that to sway this heart, Weasley," Edith said as she marched over to Mr. Filch.

* * *

 **A/N**

I just wanted to thank those who reviewed, followed, and favorited Playing the Fool, so thanks a ton guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Also, a note on the usage of Fred's full name: I intend to use Fredrick Gideon Weasley as his full name. It was never confirmed, I believe, but for my purposes that's what it will be.

Thanks again! Happy reading,

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs." - Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_

The last two months of term flew by, and summer was upon them before they knew it. The fear that came with Sirius Black's escape still lingered but seemed to dwindle compared to leaving Hogwarts that summer. A dread sat heavy in her chest as morning dawned and departure became imminent.

Edith had packed up all her things and stood waiting for the carriages to take her and her peers to the Hogwarts Express. It was very early, the morning dew still sprinkled on the ground. The early summer sun still hung low and heavy in the east.

Most of the students were still quiet and groggy from sleep, but Edith heard two excited male voices moving ever closer coming down the path.

They passed by her, and an elbow hit her firmly on the arm as they went by. Her eyes shot up and watched as the Weasley twins trotted toward their usual group of friends a bit ahead of her. Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson were waiting for them. She continued to watch as they walked, and just when it looked like they didn't notice her, Fred turned his head and made a silly face in her direction. Despite her minor irritation at him, her face lit up, and she giggled quietly to herself. Fred watched as her amusement played on her face, and he smiled back at her before turning to Lee.

It was not long before the carriages arrived, and the students loaded themselves in for the haul to the station. Edith piled into the carriage with Adrian Pucey, some of the other Slytherin quidditch players, and two younger girls. The carriage jerked forward and Edith watched outside the window as the forest passed by, sunlight blinking through the trees. The carriage ride was mostly silent, but as they boarded the train, the students began shaking off the sleepiness of the morning and chatter was everywhere.

Her group found a compartment and settled in for the long ride back to King's Cross Station. Adrian was talking to the two other quidditch players, Bletchley and Montague, about the World Cup that was to happen before the end of summer. Edith watched for a moment as the two younger Slytherin girls fawned over the boys before she began daydreaming as she watched the world pass by through the window.

"Edith? Are you ok?" Adrian asked. He had a worried look on his face as he stared her in the eyes. She was suddenly wrenched from her dreaming and fumbled for something to say.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she said with a smile.

"You're being very quiet. It's unlike you. You've been like this for a while, you know? I can't get a word out of you these past few weeks," he said matter-of-factly. He squinted at her, waiting for a response.

"Don't be silly. I'm perfectly fine," she said, holding her hands in front of her and shaking them.

Adrian looked suspicious and continued, "You can tell me if something's going on, you know?"

Everyone in the compartment began chatting loudly with each other and pretending like they didn't notice what was going on with Adrian and Edith. It was a common known fact in Slytherin house that the two of them were legally engaged. Their families had arranged a marriage contract when she was thirteen. Edith and Adrian's families were both new to pure-blood society. Neither of them could stake claim to pure-blood status as the Malfoy, Brown, or Greengrass families could, but they had made it a priority in the last few generations to snuff out marriages to half-bloods or muggles as they tried to climb the ladder of wizarding high society.

"Adrian, I'm perfectly fine. Honestly, you're embarrassing me," she whispered to him as her cheeks reddened.

"Do you want me to make them leave? I will, you know, it's not a problem," he said to her sincerely. Edith never expressed much interest in him, but Adrian felt a genuine fondness for Edith that he did not hide. Being one of the few members of her class at Hogwarts, Edith naturally found friendship with him, but she did not confide in him as he did her.

"No, that's not necessary Adrian," Edith said as she shook her head and smiled reassuringly. As she spoke, something very orange walked in front of her compartment several times before she noticed. She looked up to see Fred walking back and forth in the corridor, making a weird face at her each time he passed. Edith looked back quickly at Adrian before he glanced up himself. "I think I just need some fresh air. I'll be back ok?" Edith said as she got up from her seat by the window. She looked back at Adrian as she started out the door. He looked concerned, but he was quickly reabsorbed in conversation with the others.

Edith shut the sliding door behind her firmly and looked down the corridor for Fred. He stood several doors down near one of the exits, out of sight from the other students. Trying to keep her balance as the train moved down the track, she moved carefully down the walk with one hand on the wall.

"What are you doing, you numpty?" she asked happily as she approached him.

Fred stood there beaming at her and laughed at her playful insult. "I have something for you," he said as he slipped a piece of parchment into her comparatively small hand.

"What is it?" she asked as she unfolded it and read:

Fred Weasley  
The Burrow  
Ottery St. Catchpole  
Devon, England

"You need somewhere to send your letters of undying love, now don't you?" he asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Edith sighed. "You're hopeless, you know?" She laughed. "So you want me to write you? Looks like you're the one that's going to be missing me," she said matter-of-factly. Edith looked around and noticed George was nowhere to be found. "Where's George?"

Fred looked up at her and shook his head gently as he said, "Back in the compartment. I slipped away for a moment to get you this." He pointed at the tiny piece of paper.

Edith held her breath as she realized he wanted to be alone with her. She exhaled gently, trying not to give away her giddiness. She cleared her throat, and looked up at him. "So, that's it then?" she asked. Something in her chest felt like the pricking of needles as she remembered Adrian back in the compartment. A nagging in the back of her mind kept telling her to tell him about her and Adrian, but for some reason, she kept it from him.

"I suppose," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Edith narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because I like you, of course," he smiled and began walking down the corridor back to his compartment.

Edith looked confused. "What does that mean?" she called to him. "Stop being so vague. It's annoying, you know?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean, silly," he said as he waved over his shoulder and smiled at her as he entered his compartment and disappeared.

Edith's brow was furrowed deeply. She could not peel her eyes away from where Fred had just been. "Bloody idiot," she sighed. "What does he think he's doing?" she asked as she looked down at the tiny piece of parchment again. She rubbed her finger over his awfully childish script. She stood there for several minutes looking completely bewildered. Their meeting seemed much too short, and even a bit awkward. For some reason, something now seemed very different between the two of them. Fred's bet didn't seem like a silly game anymore. Now, it became something more of a threat.

The sound of a compartment door sliding open jarred her from her thoughts, and she quickly slipped the address safely into her pocket as she looked up to find Adrian.

"I was just on my way back," she said as she smiled at him and pretended nothing had just happened.

The train ride passed very slowly after her meeting with Fred. Edith was completely bored with her company, and she found herself quieter than ever. Adrian didn't disturb her anymore about it though. He only glanced over at her from time to time and gave her a half smile.

Edith, though she looked out the window, did not see the landscape as it shot by. Instead she thought back to that night in detention with Fred. Something in her chest was stirring and warm as she recounted the many small conversations she had with him the days following the establishment of their friendship. Fred was eternally witty and charming and kind to her. Edith was sharp and resistant with him at first, shooting small insults at him that he simply brushed off. Every time they passed each other in the halls, he always made sure to shoot her a beaming smile or an enthusiastic wave. Soon, Edith began looking for him in the halls and looking forward to their small chats in class.

Her daydreaming continued until they reached the station.

Edith did not tarry in the station to trifle with goodbyes or small talk. Her parents were there waiting for her with their stern faces and contrived manner. The air around them seemed stagnant and stifling to Edith. They were ever distant and cold. She gathered her things and hurried out of the station with her parents, though not without catching a glance of the Weasleys.

Mrs. Weasley was all arms as she hugged her children and fussed over their wrinkled clothes. She smiled brightly at everyone and her voice was as cheerful as the tinkling of bells. Mr. Weasley stood proudly over his children with a great look of satisfaction.

Fred caught sight of her as she followed behind her parents solemnly. He motioned for her to come over, but Edith simply looked apologetic and continued to walk with her parents toward the exit. Her heart ached as she watched a confused look cross his face before she turned away.

The trip to her home was quiet, for the most part. The only shared words between her and her parents were short. When they arrived at their home, Edith grabbed her things up quickly and headed straight for her room.

"Edith, don't you want dinner?" her mother called to her as she ascended the stairs.

"No mother. I'm not hungry," she responded without turning to look at her.

Once in her room, she dropped her trunk and plopped on her bed. She curled in on herself and sighed loudly. She tucked her arms tightly around herself as a chill came over her. The air in the house was always cold and dry.

A sinking feeling came over her, and a sense of deep loneliness made shiver. She jumped up from her bed and went to open the window. She pushed hard on the frame, and as the window opened, hot air mixed with the cold of her room and small bumps formed on her arms at the sensation. Edith felt like a caged bird suddenly and gulped in as much air as she could trying to drive away the unsettling feeling. She looked out over the well-kept lawn. Small bushes and flowering trees dotted the yard. She sat back into her room and turned away from the window, leaning on the wall beneath it. She scanned her room. Her bed was made still, just as she had left it. The walls were bare of pictures, the desk empty of any contents, and the book shelf was full of untouched books.

Edith looked in disgust at her living quarters.

She sat there for a long time like that before she hopped up and pulled the parchment from her pocket. She rubbed it softly and frowned, closed her eyes and sighed heavily. A hollow feeling settled in her stomach. She tried to shake off the feeling as she walked over to her desk and quietly opened a small drawer. She placed the paper into it gently but did not shut the drawer right away. Instead, Edith looked on at it with shining eyes and confusion in her heart. As she closed it silently and slowly, she pushed those feelings from her and moved back to her bed. Edith sat there, thinking quietly as she watched night descend over the world outside her window. The stars blinked through the inky cloak of night, and before long, she drifted into a fretful sleep as she dreamed of a chuckling young ginger boy, warm brown eyes, and secretly shared smiles.

* * *

 **A/N**

I know this chapter doesn't have a whole lot of Fred in it, but it's a transition chapter. Getting to see how Edith is handling the feelings within herself. Seeing who she is as a person. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter. R&R would be greatly appreciated!

Happy reading, _A Lonely Silhouette_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"This bud of love by summer's ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet." -Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_

Edith sat in the backyard passing the day in the shade of an oak tree. She was staring up into the canopy of the tree at the rays of sunlight shining through the gaps of the leaves all the while quietly chanting to herself, "Write him, don't write him. Write him, don't write him." A silent feud was raging in her head.

Edith grumbled at her indecisiveness and closed her eyes, furrowing her brow deeply. "What's wrong with me?" she grunted angrily.

For the past three weeks, Edith had spent her days in quiet solitude for the most part. She shared breakfast and dinner with her parents and chatted with them about unimportant things. The rest of the day, Edith either ventured outside to read or cloud watch. Sometimes, she stayed locked in her room.

Whether it was out of boredom or slight yearning, Edith gave in and began writing to Fred.

That night, Edith sat down at her desk and reached for a piece of parchment as she went over and over in her head what she would write. She no longer needed the tiny scrap of paper Fred gave her on the train. Several times a day for the past three weeks, she found herself opening the drawer and looking on at it as she debated on writing him. The address and his careless script were etched into her brain.

Fred Weasley  
The Burrow  
Ottery St. Catchpole  
Devon, England

 _Dear Fred,_

 _I hope you can forgive me for walking out of the station without saying goodbye. My parents aren't the social or patient type and often scold me when I keep them waiting. Your family seems much the opposite though. You're lucky._

 _My summer has been rather uneventful. I find myself counting the days to start of term. That sounds mad, doesn't it? Looking forward to homework and classes._

 _Anyway, I'm not really sure what to write. I've never spent the time to just simply write to someone with no other purpose than to keep in touch. My family only writes when it comes to business and legalities really._

 _I hope you and your family are well._

 _Edith_

 _Edith,_

 _What took you so long?_

 _Anyway, why aren't you out making mischief? I know you're entirely capable. George and I are always keeping the house nice and lively. Just the other day, we set to hiding small exploding traps in several of the cabinets and under toilet seats. There's still a few that haven't been tripped. Every now and then someone gets a good scare, and we get a good laugh._

 _George and I are also working on some of our own joke items. Remember the telescope I pranked you with? Well, let's just say it wasn't a Zonko's. Got any good ideas for us?_

 _My family is doing well. Mum has this new obsession with charm bracelets. They are a muggle invention. You put these strange pendants on a chain that goes around your wrist. They're supposed to represent something sentimental, I think. She just goes on and on about them all day. I think she's trying to hint at all the kids making her a charm so she can have one. Dad says we should make them for her because her birthday is coming up._

 _Don't worry about what happened at the station._

 _Write soon,_

 _F.W._

 _Fred,_

 _A charm bracelet sounds like a lovely thing to have. What kind of charm will you make her? Wish her a happy birthday for me, will you?_

 _Summer is a bit of a sad time for me now. I used to spend my summers at my grandmother's cottage. She died last summer. My mother and aunt were supposed to help me care for her in her last few months, but they ended up traveling. I was with her when she died though. I'm not sad about it. She's with my grandfather now. She loved him dearly, and I know she was ready to see him again. I just miss her. She was my dearest companion._

 _I'm glad to hear your family is doing well and that you and your brother are still up to your usual shenanigans. Give my regards to George._

 _E.A._

 _Edith,_

 _I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. I had no idea you went through something like that alone. I'm sure it can't be easy. My family has a knack for sticking together in times like those. To tell you the truth, I don't know what it's like to be alone, really. I hear it's the worst feeling in the world._

 _You know, I see you at school and, usually, you always have someone with you. It seems like you become friends with everyone. I find it hard to believe you don't keep in touch with them over the summer and that no one was there with you when you needed help with your grandmother. People naturally like you. You're kind. You're funny. You're spunky. I never hear anything but how incredibly nice you are and how much people enjoy being around you. Why aren't you with your friends?_

 _F.W._

 _Fred,_

 _I'm sorry. I've worried you. I shouldn't have said anything about that stuff. Don't concern yourself with that, really. I'm fine. I'm good at being alone. In fact, I prefer it. In my experience, people aren't always the kindest or most faithful. Not even my own parents. So, it's best to just be okay with yourself sometimes, you know? Not that it's for everyone. I'm happy to hear that your family is so selfless and loving. And you should be thankful for that. It's just not what I have, and I make do. And that's okay._

 _That sounds awful, doesn't it? Things are just different for me, that's all I'm trying to say._

 _E.A._

 _Edith,_

 _Do you like quidditch?_

 _F.W._

 _Fred,_

 _I love quidditch! Why?_

 _E.A._

 _Edith,_

 _Just wondering._

 _Anyway, you should come stay with us the last two weeks of summer. If I had known earlier you were having a terrible summer, I would have invited you sooner. Dad is taking us on a surprise trip, but I have weaseled the details out of him. He said we could each bring a friend if we like, but I told him that my friend had to know where we were going or your parents wouldn't let you come. He bought it, of course. Come with us? It's going to be loads of fun. You won't regret it._

 _F.W._

 _Fred,_

 _Where are you going?_

 _E.A._

 _Edith,_

 _I want it to be a surprise. Just say you'll come. You have my address, so just floo over next Monday at about 1:30 pm. Bring plenty of clothes and comfortable shoes. Don't bring anything you wouldn't wear outside or want to get dirty. I'll be expecting you._

 _F.W._

Fred and Edith had been writing to each other over the course of about a month when Edith received the last letter. She smiled widely and giddily as she read it, but it disappeared as a knock came from her door. Edith shot out of her chair and shoved the letter into the desk quickly.

"Come in," she said almost breathily.

Her mother stuck her head into the room and looked about her. "Are you ready yet? Adrian and his father will be here soon," her mother asked.

"Yes, almost ready," Edith said stepping away from the desk and toward her closet.

"Don't wear those flats that make your feet look fat. I hate those things," she said disgusted. "Wear the black ones with the two inch heels. They make you look thinner and taller." Her mother walked away from the door without another word and left Edith to her shoe hunting.

She found the shoes her mother was talking about and sighed. Those shoes always made her feet blister. "Damn," she said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

She was wearing a green silk dress with a black lace lined collar and waist. It was tight and restricting. She felt that if she bent over too far, the seams would surely burst. Her hair was up in a tight and neat bun atop her head.

She waited until the very last minute to put on her heels and leave her room for dinner.

Adrian and his father had just stepped in from the rain outside and were being welcomed sweetly by her parents. It was almost laughable. Her parents loved to put on a show for guests, especially the Pucey family.

Adrian caught sight of Edith coming down the stairs and went to help her down. He gave her his arm and she held onto him firmly as she descended in her wobbly heels. "I hate these things," she whispered to him.

"Your son, the gentlemen," Edith's mother said to Adrian's father. They all laughed loudly and began heading toward the dining room together.

"How has your summer been?" Adrian asked her as they walked together.

Edith shrugged and looked up at him, "Fine, I suppose. I've been at the house all this time, really. There's not been much to do." Adrian nodded and began talking about practicing for quidditch next term with all of his friends. They had been together nearly all summer. He told her how he planned on taking his friends to the Quidditch World Cup which was only just a week and half away. Edith enjoyed quidditch immensely. Every game, she cheered Slytherin team on no matter the weather or the outcome. She admired the skill it took to play the game and marveled at the quickness of it all. Edith waited for him to invite her as well, but he never did.

Dinner was cheerful that night. Her mother and father played their parts excellently. They mentioned how well Edith was doing at school, complimented on her ever growing beauty, and fretted over her all night. Adrian ogled her from the other side of the table, and Edith politely complimented him and his achievements on the quidditch team and in class. Her father brought up his business when quidditch was thrown in. Her father owned the Comet broom company. They were working on a new model that would be put on the market the next spring.

"How's your work going at the ministry?" her father asked Adrian's.

"Oh, you know. Nothing much changes there. That idiot, Arthur Weasley, is still trying to implement that damn Muggle Protection Act. It's been two years. You'd think he would leave it be." Adrian's father sipped his wine and continued, "Not to worry though. It'll never pass." His father worked in the legislative department at the Ministry.

Her mother and father frowned at hearing the Weasley name. Edith's ears pricked at hearing him mention it. "Yes, a detestable bunch, the whole lot of them," her mother said. Edith had heard her parents and their friends talk about Mr. Weasley and his family for years now. It was no secret that her family, and their friends, thought the worst of them.

Edith's father piped up, "Why have so many children when you can't adequately take care of them all?"

Adrian's father laughed, "I hear it's because they wanted a daughter. A daughter! Which I can't understand the reasoning in that. They have all the sons they need to get jobs and make a fine family line for them, and they dash it all by being muggle sympathizers. Damn blood-traitors."

"What's wrong with daughters?" Edith asked as sweetly as she could, covering up her anger. Her blood was beginning to boil. All her life, she had heard things like, "it's only too bad you didn't have two boys," and "well, at least she can marry into a good family," and "at least your oldest is a fine strapping young man," and other drivel. Edith had an older brother named Miles. He married a beautiful and stupid witch two years his junior and moved away to Transylvania years ago. He didn't want anything to do with the family business, much to their father's disappointment. Her father had always hoped to have more children, but her mother never did handle pregnancy well. Both Edith and her brother were born prematurely. Without the prospect of having more sons, her father hoped that Adrian might take it over, never once considering that Edith may have the desire for it.

Adrian's father looked almost horrified at himself. He'd forgotten Edith was there, apparently. He fumbled for words, "Oh, nothing dear. It's just that one hopes to get daughters more through marriage, you see." Edith looked confused, but played it off as ignorance and was sweet as sugar when she said, "Oh, I see."

Edith listened for half an hour to all the jokes they jabbed at the Weasley name and listened as they insulted their intelligence, all the while growing hotter and hotter in her anger. She pictured herself hexing everyone in that room to keep her sane that night. She could not wait for dinner to end.

Soon, but not soon enough, they all said their goodbyes and well wishes.

The rain had passed and Adrian stood with Edith outside as their parents chatted at the door, the humidity making her loose hair curl at the back of her neck.

"You look beautiful tonight," he told her with a devilish look in his eye.

"Thanks," she said dully. "I hate wearing this actually," she laughed.

"You may hate it, but it suits you well." Adrian held his hand out for hers. Edith reached for his hand and lowered her eyes. He raised her delicate fingers to his mouth and lightly kissed each of them.

Edith wanted to tug her hand away but waited politely for him to let go. His father walked passed them and said, "Come, Adrian" over his shoulder without acknowledging Edith, and Adrian parted with her.

"Edith, get ready for bed," her parents called from the door. Edith kicked her shoes off, grabbed them up, and headed straight for her room.

She threw her awful heels across the room, into the closet, and they clattered loudly to the floor after bouncing off the wall. She jerked her drawer open, grabbed a piece of parchment, wet her quill and wrote:

 _Fred,_

 _I'll see you Monday._

 _E.A._

Edith called out of her window, "Binx!"

She heard a lovely breathy "hoo" sound from a nearby tree, and suddenly, a red and brown tawny owl swooped up onto the windowsill. His feathers were dotted with drops of fresh rain that fell to her floor as he shook out his plumage.

"There you are, Binxy," she whispered sweetly to him.

"I've got to get out of here buddy," she said quietly as she mussed his feathers and sat down next to the window. "How do you fancy going and staying the rest of the summer with Fred?" Binx hooted loudly and rubbed his head against her fingers.

"All right then. You know where to go. Fly carefully okay?" Binx nipped lovingly at her fingers as she attached the letter to his leg. She gave his head a gentle pat and rubbed her thumb over his feathers. He gave a low "hoo" as he turned, hopped out of the window, and set out for his destination.

Edith sat there at the window for quite a while after Binx left, rubbing her sore and blistered feet. She looked out over the lawn in the moonlight and smiled to herself.

"See you Monday," she whispered into the night.

Fred and George had just brushed their teeth and began settling in for bed when a knock came at the window. George stood up from his bedside and trotted lazily over to answer it. Binx hopped onto the sill once George pulled the window open and hooted loudly and flapped his wings wildly.

"Okay, we get it you bloody bird. It's a bit late for all that, eh?" George patted his head firmly trying to calm him and grabbed the letter from his leg. "There you go mate. You can stay here if you like," he said to Binx as he turned away from the window.

Fred was still down the hall in the bathroom. George popped his head out around the corner and called to him, "Hey Freddie, Binx just showed up again."

Fred's head jerked around the doorway and he asked, "What's it say, then?"

George rolled his eyes and began opening the small piece of parchment. He walked out into the hallway, leaned against the wall and began to read, "I'll see you Monday." George looked up at his brother and watched as a huge grin spread across his silly face.

"Is that all?" he asked beaming.

"That's it," George said dryly.

Fred did a sort of weird dance and laughed out loud as he said, "Yes!"

George laughed at his brother as he shook his head and went to say goodnight to the family.

The twins finished getting ready for bed and headed back to their room. Fred looked for Binx with a treat in hand, but the windowsill was empty.

* * *

 **A/N**

I'm just as anxious for Edith to get out of her parent's house as you are. Writing it is worse, believe me. Has to be done though. OC background development is rough. Next chapter is going to be absolutely sweet though, I promise. So, if you like what you've read so far, subscribe and get ready for some Freddie fluff and quidditch! R&R is soooo appreciated! Thank you so much to those who have favorited, reviewed, and followed PTF!

* That obviously wasn't the complete collection of their letters. Just wanted you to get the gist of their conversations.

Happy reading,

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"The best safety lies in fear." -Shakespeare's _Hamlet_

Monday morning, Edith woke from a fretful sleep. Most of the night, she sat blinking up at the ceiling full of nervous energy. She rubbed her eyes hard with the heels of her hands trying to push away the lingering remnants of sleep as she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stretched. Her stomach began feeling the first twinges of nervousness again as she realized what she would have to do soon.

Edith got up from her bed and walked groggily over to her door as she listened for her mother across the hall. She could hear her readying herself for the day. Edith left her room and knocked on her parent's bedroom door.

"Come in," she heard her mother call.

Edith opened the door and watched her slender frame slide her shoes on and examine herself in front of a large standalone mirror. "I wanted to make sure I told you goodbye before you left for Auntie's this morning," Edith said.

Her mother continued to fiddle with her clothes and jewelry. "Are you sure you don't want us to come to the station when you leave for school?" she asked as she looked at Edith through the mirror.

"I'm sure. I'll write you when I get to school. No need to trouble yourself."

She turned around and walked over to Edith. "If you insist, dear. Have fun with Lavender. I'm glad you've decided to get out of the house before school starts back," she said as she took hold of Edith's shoulders and squeezed. Her mother had expressed a bit of concern at Edith's quiet solitude that summer. Edith had no trouble getting her to believe that Lavender had asked her to stay the rest of the summer with her. She even seemed quite happy that Edith was getting out of the house. She smiled cheerily at her daughter and clapped her hands together. "All right. I've got to go now. Make sure your room is clean before heading out this afternoon, will you?"

"Of course. Give Auntie my love," Edith said, nodding her head and raising up to kiss her mother on the cheek before she headed out of the room. Her mother left swiftly for the kitchen to grab her handbag and disapparated leaving only the echo of a faint pop behind.

The house was empty as Edith readied herself for the day. She had already chosen the clothes she'd wear the night before. Edith had picked a pair of blue jeans, a pair of dark brown trainers, and a dark green short sleeved shirt. Edith had bought them all new just a few days prior. She had owned nothing that she could wear comfortably outside and get dirty before. She imagined herself out at the Weasley's in a pencil skirt and white button up as she traipsed around outside and laughed audibly to herself.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed at her utterly plain appearance and the dark circles beneath her eyes. The outfit did nothing to compliment her, she thought as she pulled her dark locks back into a ponytail. Her hair was quite long that summer. It was longer than she'd ever let it get before. Even tied up, it still reached just below her shoulder blades.

An awkward and sickly feeling began bubbling up in the pit of her stomach as she continued to think about meeting Fred's family for the first time. She honestly felt a bit sick. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she tried to rid her body of the nervousness inside her. Her hands were shaking and her legs felt like jelly. It took a while, but she finally found the courage to finish packing her things and headed downstairs.

Edith placed all of her belongings into the fireplace neatly and sat on the sofa as she waited patiently for 1:30 to come around. The clock seemed frozen as she watched the minute hand creep over the face of the clock. Every time the hand jumped forward, something in her belly jolted in shock. Something inside her wanted to run into the fireplace and shoot over to the Weasley's as quickly as possible, but there was also something there, deep in her bones, keeping her firmly planted to the sofa.

The clock read 1:28 pm. Suddenly, Edith grew very hot and sweaty at the thought of getting up off the couch and leaving the house. Though her heart was pounding and every muscle within her was screaming their resistance, Edith stood from the couch and marched determinedly over to the fireplace. She took a bit of floo powder from the white porcelain container on the mantle and stepped over the grate. She turned to face the living room and took a very deep breath, closed her eyes, and said, "The Burrow."

After a tumultuous spin in quite a lot of soot and ash, Edith found herself standing in an unfamiliar brick fireplace looking quite frazzled from her short trip. As she dusted herself off, she looked about the room searching for the residents, but found only overstuffed armchairs and end tables. Edith noticed an unfinished bit of knitting sitting idly on the edge of the sofa. A basket of multicolored yarn was close by. Each chair was accompanied by mismatched throw pillows. Books lay open hither and thither atop various tables. Several vases were on display, each holding a variety of handpicked flowers. Several articles of discarded clothing lay about on the backs of recliners and hanging on doorknobs. Many pairs of shoes lay resting their soles in one corner of the living room near the front door. But, most notably of all, there were photos of the Weasley family absolutely covering the walls and completely taking over several surfaces in just the living room alone. Baby pictures, school pictures, family pictures, and newspaper clippings adorned the house like the lovely freckles that seemed to accompany most of the Weasley's rosy cheeks. Much like their freckles, they were countless.

"Did you hear that? I think your friend is here, darling," Edith heard from another room. Edith's eyes grew wide in fear as she realized it was Fred's mother coming around the corner and into the living room. She heard a pair of footsteps flanking Mrs. Weasley's. Edith began furiously dusting herself off as quickly as she could but stopped dead as two smiling redheads showed up in front of the fireplace. She stood absolutely frozen as her brain failed to grasp for a proper introduction.

Mrs. Weasley's smile soon faded into a look of surprise as she said, "You didn't tell me your friend was a girl." Mrs. Weasley looked over at her son, who was smiling broadly as he looked over Edith's silly condition. "A very pretty girl, at that," she said looking back at Edith, a look of exasperation planted on her face. Fred giggled slightly at his mother's surprise and at Edith's horrified expression.

Edith's face grew very red and her whole body felt like it was on fire as she looked Mrs. Weasley in the eye and spoke for the first time in what seemed like hours. Her voice was almost hoarse as she said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. My name is Edith Ainsley." Edith straightened up and stepped out of the fireplace, wiped her hand on her jeans, and extended it to greet Fred's mother with a sweet but nervous smile. "Pleasure to meet you," she said as she awaited Mrs. Weasley's hand.

"Oh dear, there's no need for that," Mrs. Weasley told her as she shooed her hand away and grabbed Edith into a rather tight embrace. Her hand fluttered upon Edith's back firmly, and Edith awkwardly raised her hands to Mrs. Weasley's back in an attempt to respond to her rather intimate first greeting.

When Mrs. Weasley released Edith, Fred patted her on the shoulder and said, "Sorry 'bout that. Should have warned you earlier. My family has no sense of personal boundaries, so be ready at any time for unexplained and unplanned acts of affection," Fred explained with a jolly grin and friendly laugh. "You'll get used to it."

Mrs. Weasley hit him hard on the shoulder before she said, "Take her things to Ginny's room, will you, son?" She took her hands and brushed Edith's shoulder off as she continued on as if she'd known Edith all her life. "Are you hungry, dear? Lunch is nearly ready." Fred raised his eyebrows at Edith and smiled encouragingly at her as he gathered her things and began hauling them up the steps. Apparently she was in great need of encouragement too. Edith still carried a very uncertain look about her. Mrs. Weasley took Edith by the shoulder and began leading her into the kitchen. "The boys are out in the front. Unfortunately, Arthur is at work at the moment, but I'm sure he'll be absolutely delighted to meet you."

Once in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley continued to ramble about this and that. Edith tried desperately to keep up with her, but her mind kept going a bit fuzzy as she tried hard to focus on what was going on. Never had she been introduced to someone and been completely accepted into their home and life as she just had with Mrs. Weasley. First introductions were always shaky when it came to her parent's friends and colleagues.

"Are you all right?" Mrs. Weasley asked Edith. Edith raised her eyes in Mrs. Weasley's direction and whispered, "Hm?"

Mrs. Weasley immediately raised her hand to Edith's forehead and said, "You look like you're going to be sick sweetie." She dropped her hand from Edith's forehead and looked her over thoroughly. "Is something bothering you?"

Edith shook herself from her shock and began to find the words to explain what was going on, but Fred came zooming around the corner and took her by the hand. "You can chat more when lunch is ready, mum. We're going out," Fred said as he drug Edith out of the door. Mrs. Weasley looked frazzled at not getting an answer from Edith, but she smiled and put her hands on her hips as she shook her head and watched the two of them dash off.

The sun was blinding as they stepped out of the door and into the yard. Something swooped by them and scared Edith.

"Oi, watch it!" Fred screamed. George had flown by them on his broom. He rounded back and landed in front of them.

"You did show! Fred's been waiting all day. I was beginning to think he was going to pace a hole in the floor," George said.

"Don't listen to him," Fred said. He shot George a threatening look. George laughed and looked back at Edith. "Fancy a bit of practice?" he asked her.

Edith shook her head firmly and said, "No, I think I'll just watch if that's okay."

Fred frowned and looked over at her with confusion on his face. "I thought you said you liked quidditch."

Edith nodded slightly and replied, "Well yes. I love to watch quidditch, that is. I can't actually play." Her face began reddening for the hundredth time that day.

"'Course you can," George said. "It's easy. Go get her a broom Freddie. We'll teach ya."

Fred disappeared into a small shed and left Edith standing there with George.

Edith began following Fred into the shed and called back to George, "Back in a sec!" George shook his head and took off on his broom again, leaving Edith and Fred to look for a spare broom.

"Fred," Edith called into the dimly lit shed.

"Found one," she heard him say.

"Fred listen," Edith continued as she walked into the shed toward him. "I can't play."

"Why not? We can teach you the rules and everything. It's not difficult, I promise. We've taught Ron and Ginny before. It'll be no-," but Fred never got to finish.

Edith cupped her hand over his mouth and said, "If you tell a single soul, I'll lop off your head, Fred Weasley." Fred looked frightened at her physical advance. "Listen," she dropped her hand from his mouth and whispered, "I can't fly a broom."

Fred laughed, "You're joking."

Edith's head hung low as she answered, "No. I'm not joking."

Fred took his hand and put it under her chin as he raised her head. He lowered his eyes to look into hers properly as if looking for any hint of a lie. "But, we had a class just to learn how to in first year. How can you not know how to fly?"

Edith turned her head away from Fred. "Yes, and that's the only class I've made below average merits in," she said soaking in her humiliation. "Look, I can hover about six feet off the ground and move at a turtle's pace, but anything more and my whole body just freaks out, okay?" Edith sighed. "I can't help it. It's completely irrational, I know, but-." She couldn't go on.

"I can teach you," Fred said energetically and enthusiastically.

Edith shook her head. "It's too embarrassing," she said quietly.

"Come on, Edith. Let me teach you how to fly," Fred said with vigor in his voice. His brown eyes were swimming with excitement at the prospect.

"You'll laugh at me," she said quickly.

"Probably," he countered. "But, so what?"

"So what? So what?" she asked, her voice raising higher as she looked at Fred with a bit of anger in her eyes. "It's not funny."

Fred shook his head and looked her over. She did seem really embarrassed and overly anxious about the whole situation. "Is it that it's me watching you, or the fact that my family is watching you?" he asked sincerely.

Edith looked at him as if he were a complete idiot. "Both, obviously. I'm not used to being put on the spot like this. I feel ridiculous," she said with a defeated look on her face. When Edith was with company, she was mostly expected to keep idle chatter pleasant and look pretty. She'd never been expected to take part in games or conversation meant for boys.

Fred sucked on his bottom lip as he thought deeply for a moment. "Okay then. No flying," he said as he grabbed hold of her hand and took off out of the shed. Edith had started to regret coming at all. So far, she had humiliated herself in front of Fred's mother, and now, Fred knew she couldn't fly a broom. She felt absolutely useless.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Fred led her back toward the house. "I'm going to show you something," he told her excitedly. Edith looked down at their entwined hands and her cheeks blushed a light pink.

George and Ron looked confused as the two of them headed back into the house. Fred and Edith took their lunch up to the twin's room where he began showing Edith some of their inventions. Before long, Edith found herself relaxing and feeling much more comfortable. They sat there for several hours going through quidditch cards, music, and playing with small trinkets Fred and George had collected over the years.

Fred pulled out a small box from underneath his bed, opened it, and handed it to Edith. Inside the box was a small yellow feathered quill. Edith pulled it out and began looking it over.

"What's it do?" she asked.

"Write with it and you'll see," he told her as he handed her a piece of parchment from his desk. He held out an ink well, and Edith dipped it gently in.

Edith tried to think of something to write and decided on just jotting down her name. She pressed the quill on the parchment, but suddenly, the quill took off on its own and began leaving behind a message she hadn't intended to be put on paper.

The parchment read, "Fred Weasley is wonderful."

Edith gasped. "Did you bewitch this thing to write nice things about you? Because that is not what I was going to write," she asked as if the quill had somehow betrayed her.

Edith looked up at Fred to find him beaming at the message. He reached out for the quill himself and pulled the parchment over in front of him. "Not exactly. It's been bewitched to write what the wielder is thinking strongly about," he told her.

"So, it can read your mind? Like legilemency?" Edith asked with a look of bewilderment on her face.

"Essentially, yes. It's only for a moment though, and it only writes simple sentences and condenses a thought or feeling into ten words or less," he explained. "For example," he dipped the quill again and began to write, but the quill took off on its own once more.

Beneath the first sentence, the quill scribbled, "Happy."

"Well, you're quite the simpleton, aren't you?" Edith asked as she raised an eyebrow at the quill lying motionless on the parchment.

Fred laughed deeply and grabbed up the quill.

"Just 'happy'? Why just 'happy'?" Edith asked when Fred didn't elaborate on what the quill had written for him.

Fred shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I'm just happy, I suppose. It's not like I had a say in what it was going to write." Fred put the quill back into the box. "So, why did it write that about me, hm?"

Edith shrugged nonchalantly, just as Fred had. She gave him a happy grin and said, "You're just really good at diffusing some of the tension I put on myself, I guess. At least, that's what I was thinking when it wrote that."

"What do you mean?" he asked puzzled by her response.

"I have a lot of anxiety about meeting new people and doing new things. I honestly felt like I was going to throw up when I met your mother, and then you wanted me to ride a broom," Edith explained while fiddling with the hem of her pants. "I'm actually really embarrassed at the fact that I'm afraid of riding them. When you brought me up here without making a fuss about it, I guess, it just helped a lot," she confessed with a sigh. "I really needed to breathe for a moment. Thanks for that," Edith told him with genuine gratitude.

Fred looked very seriously at her. "You're so weird," he said.

Edith's eyes shot open in frustration. "And how do you figure that?"

Fred held his hands in front of him as if showing submissiveness. Edith had nearly hopped out of her skin after she'd thanked him with such sincerity and he had brushed it aside so easily.

"Hold on!" he exclaimed. "I'm just saying," he stopped and looked puzzled at himself. Fred sighed and looked back up at Edith. "Well, I don't know. You're just strange, I guess," he said softly. A smile slid across his face as he told her, "It's just, I never expected you to have such a temper, I suppose. You're like a little firecracker or something. Shooting threats in casual conversation like it's nothing. Then all of a sudden, you're being sweet as sugar. I don't get it." His explanation did make a bit of sense to Edith. She remembered all the insults and threats she'd hissed at him in school and just an hour or two ago in the shed when she told him she'd chop off his head. She giggled at him and her defensiveness left her. She relaxed back against the wall and shrugged.

"You know," she began explaining, "the funny thing is, I don't do that to just anyone. Just you. My parents would kill me if they heard me talking like that." Edith whispered, "Maybe I am weird, but only because you make me that way."

Fred relaxed against his bed and said, "Nah. I think you're brilliant. Dad says, the only woman worth having is a woman with the ability to rip your throat out, but the heart to know better. Honestly, you're pretty damn scary sometimes. Considering you're short and usually adorable, that's one hell of an accomplishment if you ask me."

Edith smiled at his odd compliment. "You know, you and your brother really make some wonderful things. To make a quill with the ability to perform legilimency is absolutely astounding. I honestly wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen it. You're geniuses, truly," she told him as she drew her legs in toward her chest.

Fred grinned proudly at himself and shook his head. "You're the only one that thinks so. Mum and dad have dreamed about us making nice with the Ministry like Percy," he said as he rolled his eyes at the mention of his elder brother. "George and I, we'd be good as dead in there. I swear it saps the life out of you being in that damn grave. Underground and unnatural," he told her with a shiver. "Don't know how dad does it." Fred stretched and yawned as he continued, "No, we're going to open a joke shop of our own soon. We'll be the biggest successes in the family," he laughed, "they just don't know it yet."

Edith looked admiringly at him. Earlier, Fred had explained how most of the Weasleys didn't think much of their ambitions, but when Edith looked at him, she knew he meant it. "Well, you certainly have the ability," she told him truthfully.

"What about you? What does Edith Ainsley want to be when she grows up?" he asked as turned to her and propped his head against the side of his bed.

Edith looked down at her hands and frowned. "I don't know yet," she said with a shrug.

Fred looked at her in disbelief. "What about your dad's company? Wouldn't it be amazing to make the best quidditch competition model broom in history?" Fred's eyes grew wide at the prospect.

"You really dream big," Edith said with a giggle. "Anyway, I don't know anything about it. Dad thinks my husband will take it over, I suppose." Edith's chest felt a little tight at the mention of her desires being thrown at someone else.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a great gig to me," he said.

"Yes, well he doesn't think I'm capable, so that's that," Edith said matter-of-factly trying to end the subject.

"So show him you are," Fred said straightening up.

"It's not that simple," Edith said pointedly.

"Why not?" Fred countered.

"It just isn't, all right?" she said, ending it with a threatening tone and look of frustration.

"Ok then, what about marriage? Kids?" Fred countered again.

Edith sighed and shook her head, "I don't want to talk about this."

"You mean, yourself," Fred replied.

Edith threw her hands in the air. "You are the most frustrating person I have ever met," she said in a high pitched squeak.

Fred stuck his tongue out at her, and despite her irritation, Edith giggled at him and threw the pillow she had been using to lean on at his head.

"Numpty," she said.

"Brat," he called her as he threw it back.

George heard the commotion and came in to join them. They teased Edith gently and continued to talk about their dreams of owning their own joke shop one day and showed her more of their silly inventions.

Dinner time came around and Edith met Arthur and Percy. Mr. Weasley had introduced himself politely and given her a firm hug before sitting down to dinner. Percy shook her hand gently and greeted her casually before keeping to himself most of dinner. The table was lively and warm as they all sat together and welcomed Edith. Ginny complimented Edith's hair, and before she knew it, she was talking and talking more than she ever had in the presence of new company. She forgot her anxieties. She forgot her manners. She forgot her problems. She forgot her expectations. For a short time, Edith felt like a new person.

In the middle of dinner, Mr. Weasley suddenly spoke up from across the table as asked, "So, Edith, confirm an old man's curiosities and tell me, are you Fred's girlfriend?" Edith's heart jumped into her throat and her stomach seemed to be doing backflips in her belly. She was utterly stunned by the question and sat motionless as she searched for an answer.

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley yelped in disbelief. "Come now dear, that's not really our business!" Although Mrs. Weasley reprimanded Arthur she still looked very interested to hear Edith's answer. Her eyes never left Edith's face.

Ginny giggled from across the table at the silly situation and everyone seemed to be looking curiously between Fred and Edith. Fred himself looked rather intently in her direction. Edith began to sweat under the pressure and sputtered, "I- well, that's-," finally Edith coughed and nervously spat out, "He hasn't asked me." Her face was as red as a traffic light when she finished.

"Merlin, Fredrick. Have I taught you nothing?" Arthur asked his son in disbelief. Mr. Weasley raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Molly, dear, could you pass the peas?" he inquired lovingly and all hints of the previous conversation died. Dinner resumed as if nothing had been said, as if Edith hadn't just experienced the most embarrassing moment in her life.

Though she felt as if nothing could subside the embarrassment she had just been put through, everyone made certain to ask her questions of a simple or silly manner to rid her anxieties. Percy complained about idiotic things Fred and George had done over the summer, mentioning an exploding toilet among them, and Ron nearly spewed his drink through his nostrils when George belched incredibly loudly. Mrs. Weasley fussed over their awful table manners and assured Edith she had taught them better, all the while still smiling proudly at her happy family even as she scolded them.

Bed time rolled around much too soon. Edith bunked down with Ginny. Mrs. Weasley had set out a lovely cot for her. She listened as the family wished each other good night and went off to their beds. Each of them made sure to pop in and tell her good night as they trotted by Ginny's room.

Edith found it easy to get comfortable and warm as she lay there and recounted the evening's events. The house itself seemed to breathe deeply as the night went on. Edith felt a grogginess creep over her as she lay there looking out the window next to her cot, but it was soon pushed away by the sound of a whisper from the door.

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry it was getting a bit long, but I couldn't stop myself. Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers. I would not have the motivation if it weren't for your encouragement.

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

"Love sought is good, but giv'n unsought is better." – Shakespeare's _Twelfth_ _Night_

Edith's eyes began to get heavy and sleep pulled gently at her drifting consciousness as she lay there thinking fondly of the Weasley family. Her heart felt fuller than ever, and her mind was at ease. As she soaked in the wonderful feelings the memories of the day brought her, her eyes began fluttering closed, but something stole her attention before her body gave in to her tiredness.

A faint whisper creeped in through a crack in the door. "Edith," it called quietly into the dark.

Edith's eyes opened wide in realization. She sat up as softly as she could and stood from the cot. Ginny seemed undisturbed, so Edith continued her advance toward the door. She grabbed hold of the knob gently and opened the door just a hair.

"Fred?" she asked.

"Come out into the hall," was the only reply she got.

Edith pulled the door open far enough to fit her slender figure through the gap and tiptoed into the hall. She bumped into a warm body and nearly jumped out of her skin when two hands grabbed hold of her shoulders to steady her.

"What? You nearly scared me to death," she hissed.

"Put this on and follow me," Fred said as he handed her something soft. Edith floundered with it, and said, "I can't see a thing. How am I supposed to put this on when-," but before she could finish, Fred had taken the article of clothing, maneuvered it to fit over her head, and helped her locate the arm holes in what seemed like a mere second. As it slipped over her head, a familiar scent filled her lungs and she breathed deeply in it. The smell brought back a memory. Edith was in Fred's arms as he held his hand over her mouth in the trophy room during their detention together. The scent was of a faint cologne, a bit of something earthy, and the slightly spicy aroma of cedar. The wardrobe the twins kept their clothes in was cedar. It had been cracked ever so slightly when Edith and Fred were sitting there that afternoon. It left the air smelling sweetly of it.

Without explaining any further, Fred found Edith's hand and began descending the stairs. They made their way through the living room and to the front door.

"Wait!" Edith commanded. "We're going out? What about shoes?" she asked hurriedly.

"You won't need them. We won't be walking long," he explained. Fred deftly opened the door and they slipped out into the light of the moon. It was full and heavy in the sky that night. Now that they were outside, Edith could see Fred was wearing a pair of light blue pajama pants and an old grey hoodie with a green four leaf clover on the back. His red hair looked particularly odd in the moonlight, giving it an otherworldly look in the hazy glow as it hung next to his pale face. Edith looked down to find that Fred had given her a thin hoodie as well. It was maroon and had the Gryffindor crest on it. Edith's pajama pants were black and a bit too long for her. They touched the grass at her heels as she walked through the yard. Her hair lay untied about her shoulders blowing hither and tither in the breeze.

Now that Edith could see, Fred released her hand and started walking toward the old shed again. "Follow me," he called quietly to her.

Edith followed him with caution. She was suspicious of the whole situation. "What's going on? Why are we sneaking around?" she asked worriedly.

Fred shushed her and entered the shed. Edith stood outside watching as he lit his wand and rummaged through the small building. Before long, he emerged with a rather strange item in tow. He held a very old two seater model Cleansweep in his left hand. It was nearly twice as long and thick as a standard broom with two sets of foot grips and seats. He held it out and set it to hover in front of Edith.

Edith's stomach ached at the sight of it. "Fred, I can't," she said breathily and afraid.

"I'll be with you the whole time. There's no one here to see but us," Fred began. "I promise I'll only laugh if you laugh first, okay?" he smiled.

Edith looked at the broom like it would jump at her any moment and eat her alive. "Fred, I'm afraid," she confessed. "I can't do this," she said, her voice shaking.

Fred's smile vanished as he watched Edith back away from the broom and turn back to the house. "I'll never let you live this down, you know?"

Edith halted in her march back to the door. Embarrassment and even a bit of anger began swelling in her chest. She didn't turn around.

"Don't go," he said firmly. He stepped around the broom and walked toward her, her back still turned to him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and tugged her, encouraging her to look at him. She turned slowly around and averted her eyes. Edith stood inches away from him. Fred could feel her hot breath against his face like her fear was pouring from her very lungs. Her hands were trembling fists at her sides.

"Look at me?" he asked kindly and with hope in his voice. Edith continued to look anywhere but at his face. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she felt her anxieties build. "Edith," he said as he took her forearms in both of his hands and tugged her to him so that their foreheads were touching. Edith sucked in a surprised breath and her eyes jerked toward his. Fred had to bend down slightly to reach her as he was a little more than a head taller than she was. "There you are," he said as he looked piercingly into her eyes. The night had washed away their usually hazel color, and Fred found them as nothing but pitch black pits as he peered into them.

Her eyes scanned his face, so close to hers. His hair tickled her face as it blew lightly in the cool evening air. She could see the freckles that decorated his nose and cheeks, much like the stars hanging across the night sky dotting it in small flecks of heavenly light. The smell of cedar was strong around them as Fred's physical presence invaded Edith completely. Her hands slowly loosened until they were no longer tight fists. Her shoulders relaxed and her face rested into a pleasantly confused expression.

Their eyes were dancing with each other as they took in the face in front of them. The moonlight made both of them look as if they had been chiseled from marble. His hands were still fixed at her arms just below her shoulders.

"There you are," he repeated as he watched a calmness take over her. Edith's breathing had become much more even and her muscles didn't sing with fear.

"You're right, you know?" Edith said with a quivering voice. "You people have no sense of personal space." At that, Fred smiled and laughed lightly. He slowly backed away from her and released her arms. The space between them seemed very cold and void after that.

"I'm sorry, Edith," he told her as he held out his hands as if showing her his intentions plain there in his palms. "I didn't realize," he started, but thought otherwise. "Look, I'll put it away, and we can forget it ever happened."

Moisture began accumulating in her eyes as she watched him turn away and start to gather the broom. With his back to her, Edith found herself starting to panic.

"Wait," she whispered. Fred didn't hear her and continued to take the broom back. "Wait!" she cried.

Fred stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to look at her. Edith drew strength from somewhere inside herself amongst the storm of emotion twisting within her heart. "I want to try," she said with a sniffle. She choked back her tears as she watched Fred. He looked skeptical as he watched her compose herself.

"Are you sure?" he asked gently.

Edith nodded her head and brushed back her hair. "You won't let go, right?"

"Not unless you say so," he assured her.

She nodded her head once more and said, "Okay."

Fred held out the broom and set it to hover again. He threw his leg over to the other side and took the back seat. "C'mon," he called to her.

Edith had been standing there with eyes wide as saucers and her hands clasped tightly together. Her whole body was tight with fright again. She walked slowly over to the broom. Fred stretched out his arm waiting for her to mount. Once she was close enough to take her mount, she stopped suddenly and her hands shook with terror. "Fred," she squeaked. "I'm afraid." Fred took her hands in his and said, "I'm not." His hands were still as stones and warm to the touch. He held her hands like that until they grew steady and calm. Edith was still wide eyed as she watched him suck the anxiety from her body so easily.

Fred released one of her hands and used the other to tug and encourage her to get onto the broom. Once she had finally thrown her leg to the other side and settled on her seat in front of him, he curled her arm in and pressed it firmly around the broomstick in front of her. He did the same with their other hands.

"Put your feet on the foot grips. I'll kick off for us, all right," he told her. Edith had been almost holding her breath. She slowly placed her feet, one at a time, onto the grips. It began to feel much too real for her once her feet were off the ground, but Fred didn't give her much time before he kicked off.

"Here, we go," he said. "Hold tight." Fred pushed off and they began ascending into the night sky. Edith gasped and closed her eyes tightly once they were off the ground. Her heart was racing in her chest. She felt as if it would explode. Her hands held so tightly to the broom that the feeling was being drained out of them.

"Edith," Fred called to her from behind. He scooted in close and held her tight to him. Edith felt herself become enveloped in the warmth of his chest and she sucked in a cold breath. "Edith, breathe," he told her. She let go of the breath she had been holding and let it slip from her quickly. She took in a large gulp of air more quickly than she had meant. Fred could feel her struggling. "You can do this. I know you can," he told her. "I have you. Don't think about anything but breathing right now. You're not going anywhere. So breathe," he said into her ear. He pressed the side of his face close to the back of her head near her neck. He started to breathe deeply and slowly. Edith could feel his chest rise and fall rhythmically next to hers, and she found herself mimicking it. Edith slowly and gently loosened her hands. Once the feeling began to return, she felt how strong and firm Fred's were around hers. She breathed out slowly, her eyes still closed. Edith anchored herself there on the broom where her hands were held tightly by Fred's.

"Open your eyes," he nuzzled her. "You're missing it," he whispered into her ear.

Edith opened her eyes and the wind stung them. She blinked several times quickly and found herself looking directly at the moon. Fred was still taking her higher and higher until they were overlooking the world in miniature. Edith could see small houses in the distance, their windows lit in an orangey glow. She watched as the stars in the sky winked at them from their perches high above. A lake, several miles away, reflected the moonlight off its surface like a giant mirror upon the earth.

"Fred, it's amazing up here," she said almost breathless as she turned to look over her shoulder at him. His face was still resting very close to hers, and their noses brushed as she turned to him. She realized he had been watching her. Of all the marvelous sights that night, he had been watching her. She turned quickly away from his gaze and felt her face growing hot even in the cool evening air.

Fred watched surprise play over her face as she avoided looking at him. Her dark brown hair was highlighted a shining silver in the ghostly light of the moon.

"What are you doing?" she asked, suddenly feeling nervous for an entirely different reason than being on a broom.

Fred shrugged and turned his attention toward the sky as he thought about his answer. "I think I'm just wondering who you are. Somehow, we always end up talking about me," he laughed. "What I know about you doesn't sum up to much," he told her. Edith frowned slightly at his words. She had purposely kept a lot of her personal details out of conversation between them. She had hoped he wouldn't pry too much.

"Well, I told you before, I don't really think I'm all that interesting. My life hasn't exactly been terribly exciting or unique really," she said trying to sound reassuring and less like trying to convince him.

"That's rubbish," he told her as he looked back to her. "When's your birthday?" he asked.

Edith giggled and said, "The twenty-second of February." Fred's eyes widened and he smiled before telling her, "You're older than me. Did you know that?" He shook his head. "George and I were born the first of April. Fitting, eh?" he laughed heartily.

They were quiet for a moment before he continued to question her. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asked.

Edith nodded and said, "I have an older brother, Miles. He's married now and moved away to Transylvania to publish a book on the magical history of the area." Edith sighed. "He's almost eight years older than me, so we've never been particularly close."

"Good Lord, why the enormous age gap?" Fred replied bewildered.

"Mom didn't handle pregnancy well. Miles was born early and frail," Edith explained. "Mum didn't want to go through that again, but Miles got sick at the age of six. They didn't think he'd make it. That's when they decided they needed a replacement kid, so here I am." She frowned deeply. "They were pretty disappointed though when I ended up being a girl." Edith was surprised at herself for being so forward with him. She didn't understand why she wanted to tell him everything about her or why he was so easy to talk to.

Fred looked at her seriously and said, "You're joking right?"

Edith shook her head and looked back at him, "No." She breathed deeply and he saw resentment in her eyes.

"Well, that's just ridiculous," he told her. "My mum and dad had enough kids to start a quidditch team just to have a girl. Can you imagine? Mum was pregnant for a total of nearly five years to have a daughter. I can't imagine the pain she went through," Edith heard hints of admiration in his voice as he spoke of his mother, and she smiled as she listened to him. "If anyone knows the value of a girl, it's our family. Ginny means the world to us, and mum's a real pain sometimes, but she's the best person in the world, really. Puts up with us, and that's probably hell," he sniggered.

"You're so lucky, Fred," she told him genuinely. "My family just wants to marry me off and get rid of me as fast as they can. They don't even know I'm here. I told them I was staying with Lavender," she laughed sarcastically. "If they knew I snuck away to stay with a boy for the summer, they'd murder me." Edith looked confused suddenly, "By the way, why didn't you tell your mum I was a girl?"

Fred smiled broadly. "Didn't you see her face?" Edith remembered seeing the shock on Mrs. Weasley's face when she saw Edith for the first time. She was so nervous she didn't really have time to enjoy Mrs. Weasley's reaction, but now that she could, it was very funny, she had to admit. They laughed together as they both recounted the situation.

"Your family is lovely, Fred," she told him as she looked back over at him. He was still beaming from their shared mirth moments ago. It was then that Edith found herself truly enjoying his smile and his laugh. It was so distinct and truly contagious. He brought happiness with him wherever he went. Edith's heart began to swell in her chest as she looked at him.

"Edith," Fred spoke, still with joy in his voice. "I'm glad you came," he told her happily.

As the feeling in her chest continued to grow, a familiar but unwanted memory creeped into her thoughts poisoning her joy. Adrian Pucey's smug face bounced around in her mind pushing all thoughts of Fred away. Edith's smile retreated bit by bit, but she put on a placid face with false happiness hanging precariously from it. Resentment grew and grew in her heart as she looked at Fred and saw just how untouchable he really was for her. Though they were there, wrapped in each other so closely on the broom, their hands tangled in each other's, Edith could not touch him. Not ever, she thought.

Fred felt something change between them. Edith looked out at the stars and avoided looking back at him as they rode in silence.

"I'm sorry about what dad asked at dinner," Fred piped up rather quietly from behind her. "That's not why I asked you to come, really. You're wonderful, but first and foremost, you're my friend," he continued cautiously. "I can tell you're dealing with some things I could probably never understand, so I just want you to know that I do-," he sucked in a deep breath and huffed a little embarrassedly, "I just want to be whatever you need me to be." Fred watched the back of her head and continued to be silent for a moment, hoping the sincere message would sink in.

A tear loosed itself from Edith's cheek and the wind carried it backward where it landed against Fred's as she turned to him and said, "It's just, there's-," but Fred didn't let her continue. "You don't have to explain," he said quietly. Edith looked away from him again and sucked in a cool gulp of air as the wind pushed away her tears. She tried desperately to quell the sadness that had welled up so suddenly within her.

Fred decided it was probably best to end their flight and let Edith sort through her feelings. "Let's get back. You're shivering," he said. Edith was shivering but not from the cool night air.

He brought the broom in for its landing and touched down into the yard with his bare feet. He stood there firmly holding Edith and helped her dismount. Fred dismounted and gathered the broom. He took it into the shed and made his way back to a speechless Edith still standing right where he left her. Her face was contorted into an emotion Fred couldn't read.

"Thank you," he heard her say.

The wind picked up and tossed their hair violently as they stood facing each other in the yard. The grass tickled their bare feet. "C'mon," he said. "Let's get back before mum finds us and jumps to the wrong conclusion." There was a bit of disappointment in Fred's eyes, not meant for Edith to see. He didn't take her hand as he had before. Instead he walked to the door and held it open for her. She passed through, but stood still there in the living room. Fred closed the door behind him and found himself wrapped in a very tight embrace before he knew what had happened.

Edith didn't know what had come over her. Suddenly, her whole body screamed for him. She couldn't help it. There was absolutely nothing she could do to stop herself. Her arms were tight around him, and suddenly hot tears were trailing down her face again and landing on his shirt. She heaved a heavy breath from her lungs and clung to him even more so.

Fred reacted instantly and held her tight as she stood on tiptoe to reach above his shoulders. "Edith," he said gently. "I don't know what's going on," he confessed.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed quietly into his chest. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

"Look," he told her as he pushed her softly away from him to look her in the face. "I don't know what's going on, but obviously you're not ready to tell me. And that's okay," he admitted. Fred could feel the distance between them even though they were so close. "It's okay," he reassured her as he wiped her face with the back of his sleeve.

Edith was completely baffled at her behavior.

Fred smiled at her reassuringly and let go of her. "Now, really, we should go before mum finds us like this." Edith followed Fred back up the stairs to Ginny's room.

"G'night," he whispered to her as they stood in the dark hallway.

"Good night," she breathed as she opened Ginny's door and left Fred in the dark.

* * *

 **A/N**

Let me know what you think.

Btw, I have no idea how common cedar is in that region, but I absolutely love the smell. I wanted to make a very unique scent for Fred. Hope you liked it.

Happy reading,

 _A Lonely Silhouette_

 **Alert!** Edits have been made to all chapters (small and mostly insignificant). Extensive edits have been made to chapters 5 and 6.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." -Shakespeare's _A Midsummer Night's Dream_

Several days had passed since Edith's first arrival, and it was the morning of their trip to who-knows-where. Fred had managed to keep it a complete secret from Edith.

The days prior to their journey were filled with helping the Weasleys with chores such garden de-gnoming, which Edith found to be quite difficult due to the fact that she was completely horrified at chucking small creatures over fences. Every time she managed to capture one, the little bugger would squirm so much that she would completely lose her grip and they would toddle away quickly into a nearby bush. Fred found the whole ordeal to be incredibly funny. At one point, he was doubled over heaving great laughs all wide mouthed and tearing up at the sight of Edith being drug through the dirt by a very squat, albeit very strong, little gnome. Edith had never been dirtier in her life.

Besides chore work, they had quite a lot of time for play as well. The morning after their secret midnight rendezvous, Edith asked Fred to teach her more about quidditch and flying faster. It took a while, but within a few days, Edith was zooming around the yard as if she'd been riding brooms her entire life. Ginny even joined them several times. They raced each other and tossed around a very old and very used quaffle flying as quickly as they could in the direction the others threw it.

Though it all seemed like a dream, it was not without its awkward occurrences, the worst being the morning after their secret flying excursion. Fred tried to act as if nothing had happened the night before, but Edith could have sworn she saw George give her the stink eye several times that morning. Obviously he knew what had happened but must have been told not to let on that he did. Edith tried desperately to follow Fred's example and brush it off, but her stomach kept tying itself in knots every time she tried to spend time with him. It made it impossible to pretend nothing had changed. She continued to feel that way, but it dwindled the longer both of them ignored the events of that night. The morning they left for their trip, it was again but a small pricking in her chest.

"Time to get up, dearie," Mrs. Weasley whispered to Edith and shook her shoulder.

Edith peeped open a single sleepy eye and whispered, "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I'm up." She stretched and yawned as she threw her legs over the side of the cot and began brushing the sleepiness from her eyes. Edith looked out of the window next to her cot and saw that the morning sky was still dark.

Mrs. Weasley moved to Ginny's bedside and shook Ginny gently. "Wake up, darling," she said as Ginny stirred beneath the sheets. Ginny threw the covers from herself and excitedly sat up. "I'm up! Is breakfast ready?" she asked as she hurried out of bed.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head and replied, "Yes, now get dressed. Dad is already waiting on you all."

Edith left the two of them and headed for the lavatory to ready herself and change. As she walked out into the hallway, she smelled the delectable scent of breakfast wafting up the stairs. Her mouth watered as she made her way into the bathroom. She threw on a soft but thin burgundy colored long sleeve shirt and a pair of slightly snug fitting taupe colored pants. Edith had accounted for being somewhat stylish while still looking casual enough to pass as pretty but also as not-trying-too-hard. Edith had worried about her appearance every day since coming to the Weasleys, but today as she looked at herself in the mirror while tying up her hair in a loose braid, she smiled at her reflection in admiration. Her hair curled in just the right places, her hazel eyes were complimented exquisitely by her burgundy sweater, and her cheeks bloomed in a lovely natural blush.

Once she had finished sprucing up, Edith grabbed her toothbrush and headed back to Ginny's room to grab her bag. She passed a very sleepy looking and messy haired Harry Potter on his way to the lavatory. Harry had arrived the night before and seemed pleasant enough, even after finding out Edith was in Slytherin. Must have been because Ron was very kind to Edith and seemed rather fond of her.

"Morning Harry," she said quietly as she passed him.

"Er, oh morning!" he said still half asleep.

Edith walked by Fred and George's door and couldn't help but peek in. George had just put his shirt on and was throwing his hair out of his face, but Fred was already dressed and grabbing up their bags heading for the door. Edith picked up her pace. As Fred stepped out of his room, Edith slid into Ginny's and shut the door most of the way. She stood still just in front of the door as Fred passed by.

"What are you doing?" an unfamiliar voice asked from across the room.

Edith jumped in complete shock as she searched for whoever had spoken to her. Edith hadn't realized Ginny was in her room with another guest. "Oh, hello," Edith said sweetly to them. "Sorry I was just trying to get out of the way. Lots of people running around this morning," she explained, her cheeks red.

"This is Edith Ainsley. She's in Fred and George's year," Ginny said.

"Oh, nice to meet you!" the other piped up. "I'm Hermione Granger. I've just arrived. I don't believe we've met. You're not in Gryffindor house, are you?"

"Pleasure to meet you," Edith said as she walked across the room to greet the brown headed witch. Edith held out her hand and Hermione took it. "And no, I'm in Slytherin house," Edith answered rather proudly as they shook hands. Edith waited patiently for the information to sink in. Hermione's face gradually went from pleasant to confused rather quickly.

As they parted hands Hermione said, "I didn't know Fred and George had friends in Slytherin."

"They don't," replied Ginny, "just Edith." Hermione looked at Ginny like she was waiting on her to laugh as if some silly joke were being played on her. "Don't worry. Ron was in shock when he found out too. It was really rude actually. Edith is great though, so just pretend she's not in the same house as Malfoy," Ginny explained to Hermione with a smile. Hermione looked a little as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Well, I'll be heading down to breakfast. Best hurry, Ginny. It'll be getting cold," Hermione said as she quickly left the room.

Ginny shrugged her shoulders at Edith and said, "Don't worry about her. She's got a lot of deep seated resentment for Slytherin, but she's fair minded and kind hearted. It just takes her awhile to admit that she's wrong. She'll come around."

Edith had already experienced this situation with Ron the day she arrived. He looked absolutely dumbfounded when Fred had told him Edith was from Slytherin. He quickly began laughing and told the boys to quit messing around. Ron said Edith couldn't possibly be from Slytherin, she was much too pretty and laughed at Fred and George's jokes, something a Slytherin would never be caught doing apparently. It finally sunk in when Ron saw the Slytherin crest on Edith's trunks. Ron made the comment that maybe the Sorting Hat got it wrong for once, but Edith remembered how clearly Fred had assured him that Edith was most definitely a Slytherin. Ron looked incredibly bewildered but seemed to be ok with it. Edith herself was rather stunned to hear Fred sound almost as if he was admiring her for being Slytherin.

Edith simply continued to grab her bags and coat as Ginny hopped around still gathering her things. "See you at breakfast," Edith said as she left the room.

She trotted down the stairs, stuck her bag amongst the pile of others at the front door, and made her way into the kitchen. Breakfast was already well underway. It seemed only Ginny was missing from the table.

"Morning, Edith! Did you sleep well?" Mr. Weasley called to her from the head of the table as he saw her come in. He sipped a glass of orange juice as she replied, "Morning, sir. I did sleep well, thank you." Edith grabbed a plate already donned with the mornings yummies and thanked Mrs. Weasley for the food as she moved to find a seat at the table.

Fred sat picking at a plate of eggs and toast while George sipped a cup of something steaming hot. Fred waved to her and grinned through a mouth full of food. Edith grimaced playfully at him and took a seat next to a very sleepy looking Ron.

"'Morning," he yawned at her. "You look nice," he said stretching.

Edith opened her eyes wide and smiled brightly at him. "Thank you, Ron. That's sweet of you to say so," she said excitedly.

"Hey," Fred said loudly across the table, "that's my line." Fred threw a small piece of toast at Ron and it plunked him on the nose. Ron's face went red, and Edith giggled as Percy yelled from the entrance of the kitchen, "Stop it right there, you brutes. Try to be civilized for once," he said as he headed toward the door. "I'm off. Have a nice trip," he called to them as he left.

Ron brushed off his anger and said, "Too tired to retaliate anyway. Arse!"

"Percy isn't coming?" Edith questioned.

"No, he never does anything fun," George said around his cup.

Ginny finally came down to breakfast and grabbed a plate from Mrs. Weasley. She began eating before she even sat down next to Hermione who had been quietly reading over The Daily Prophet completely ignoring the goings-on around the table. Harry sat next to Ron on his other side and asked Ginny to pass the marmalade from down the other side of the table. Everyone passed it from hand to hand counterclockwise until it made to Harry. Mrs. Weasley was busy doing the dishes and asking everyone if they packed their toothbrushes. Arthur still sat at the head of the table looking as if he were going over a mental checklist for their departure.

The hustle and bustle began dying down as everyone finished their plates and began telling Mrs. Weasley goodbye.

"Have a lovely time, dear. I do hope you enjoy yourself. Help make sure the boys behave, will you?" Mrs. Weasley asked her as she hugged Edith goodbye.

"I will do my best," Edith assured her as she embraced Mrs. Weasley.

Molly moved on to the next child in need of hugging, and Edith moved to the front to put on her coat and boots. Arthur marched out of the front door after kissing Molly goodbye, and everyone grabbed their bags and marched out after him like ducklings following their mother. The morning sun had just peeked over the horizon as they stepped out of the house. Edith took in a deep breath and smiled as she set out with the Weasley family.

She walked along between Fred and George most of the way. Fred had a wide grin plastered to his face and teased Edith about not knowing where they were going. He was immensely excited about their destination, and it gave Edith butterflies in her stomach to know that he was also excited because she was going with him.

After some time, their group met up with two more guests. Cedric Diggory and his father joined in formation, were greeted warmly, and continued with them on their journey. Before long, they arrived at a clearing on hill. Arthur marched quickly up the hill toward something small sitting on the ground. Edith realized it was what would be transporting them to their destination, a portkey.

"Nearly there," said Fred absolutely beaming. "Come on!" Fred and George jogged up the hill and Edith followed close behind.

The portkey was a tatty old boot. Everyone gathered around excitedly and grabbed hold of the shoe. Edith found a free spot and held tight as Arthur yelled, "All right kids! Three! Two! One!"

The ground suddenly seemed to vanish and they were spinning uncontrollably in the air as they were transported to their destination. Edith held her breath and squeezed her eyes nearly closed trying to shield them from the wind as they hurled away.

"Let go, kids!" Arthur yelled at them. Edith had traveled by portkey before, but hated this part. Bodies began detaching themselves from the boot, and Edith followed suit. She let go and was slung back down to earth rather violently. Loud thuds resounded from the falling bodies around her. She landed next to Fred who coughed and sputtered as he sat up. Edith's stomach felt topsy-turvy as she found her bearings.

Fred stood up first and offered his hand to her. She took it and slowly lifted herself from the ground. "Thanks," she said as she breathed deeply trying to rid herself of a nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Let's go! We're here!" Fred said eagerly. He held tight to her hand as he practically drug her up a steep hill. Everyone was climbing slowly with them.

Edith topped the hill still holding tightly to Fred's hand.

"Surprise!" Fred whispered into her ear as their destination came into view.

Edith's eyes grew wide and almost teary as she realized where she was. Before her was Dartmoor, England: the location of the Quidditch World Cup. The stadium, enormous and brightly lit, was just a short walk away. Crowds of people were enjoying pre-game festivities. Edith found it hard to breathe as the situation began to sink in. She couldn't believe her eyes.

She looked over at Fred, still absolutely pleased with himself at her reaction, and said, "Pinch me."

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry to have been away so long. I hope you can forgive me!

I wanted to give an enormous thank you to all those who read and reviewed during my absence. Truly, thank you so very much! You all have given me the motivation to finally finish this chapter. It's been giving me fits trying to portray the family as accurately as possible. Not to mention, it's also a transition chapter which I admit are the hardest for me to write.

Thank you! Thank you! And thank you again for being so kind and encouraging. I hope you enjoyed chapter 7. As always, please let me know what you think and feel free to PM me if you have any questions or comments that need discussing. I am always happy to hear from you.

Happy reading,

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

"Love will not be spurred to what it loathes." – Shakespeare's _The Two Gentlemen of Verona_

Adrian Pucey hid behind a rack of clothes in the vendors' market as he watched his fiancé flounce about with the ginger headed blood-traitors. His blood was boiling, and the hot summer sun did nothing to alleviate his anger or grant him patience. Montague and Bletchley had stuck rather close to him until he'd noticed Edith with the muggle sympathizers. Embarrassed and enraged, Adrian dismissed his friends and took to spying on Edith and her detestable company the rest of the afternoon. He watched as she laughed with them, ate with them, and even showed affection for them.

Adrian moved deftly between tents and tried to remain as just another face in the crowd as he lurked about watching them as the sun rose high overhead. The noise of the crowd kept him from hearing much of their conversations, but they couldn't hide their shared smiles and joyful expressions. He watched as one of the twins, which one he could not say, continuously lead her by the hand from place to place and steadied her with his touch. He could barely contain his rage every time he caught him with his hands on her.

The sky had begun to darken, and the crowd thinned as everyone made their final purchases and headed for the stadium.

Adrian observed from behind a sign as Edith and her group were making their last stop at a team merchandise vendor's tent. One of the boys held open the tent as the others ducked in, and they vanished from sight.

Adrian ran his hands roughly through his inky hair in irritation and spat in the dirt as he gathered the small bit of patience and grace he had in order to confront Edith without making a scene. He wanted to make their confrontation as pleasant as possible. After all, he was above all else, a gentlemen.

Edith was picking out a set of beaded necklaces in Ireland's team colors as she heard a familiar silky voice from behind her.

"Is that you, Edith?"

Edith jumped violently and the beads clattered loudly to the ground and settled about her feet as she jerked around to face Adrian. He was dressed immaculately, as always. His black hair was brushed back slick and elegantly. He donned a handsome set of tan slacks and a white button up rolled up casually at the sleeves.

"Oh, hold on there," Adrian said politely as he bent down and gathered the beads. "Here you are m'lady," he said as he held them out for her to take.

Edith still looked absolutely stunned as she reached shakily for the necklaces. Adrian felt the soft pads of her fingers glide over his palm as she took the trinkets from him. Fred, George, and Ginny watched awkwardly at their exchange.

"Hello, Adrian," Edith sputtered. She looked as if she might say something else, but the words were stuck somewhere in her throat.

"I didn't know you were coming to the Cup. Where's Lavender? I thought you were visiting her this summer," he inquired with curious and shaded eyes.

"Well, I-," she started and nearly lost the beads again as she fumbled for the words. "She just-," she continued to try and sort through the situation she had gotten herself into.

Fred took hold of Ginny and marched over to Edith before she could say another word and addressed Adrian with confidence and certainty. "Lavender fell ill the day before yesterday. She had intended to come with Edith and meet up with Ginny to watch the match but didn't feel up to making it today. Edith still wanted to come though, so we offered to make sure she was safe while she watched the match and escort her to school next week," Fred explained. "Isn't that right, girls?" he asked them coaxingly.

Ginny piped up almost immediately and continued, "She didn't want to waste the ticket, and we were all coming anyway, so I offered for her to stay with us."

Adrian narrowed his eyes as he looked at each of them. Edith lost some of her nervousness, and her posture straightened a bit as she realized the Weasleys wouldn't let Adrian know she had lied to her parents.

"You could have asked me, you know? Father and I would have been happy to escort you," he told her reassuringly.

Edith looked at him apologetically and confessed, "It was just so last minute, it didn't occur to me."

Adrian watched as Fred smiled broadly at their quick recovery and attempted deception. "I suppose your parents know about the sudden change of plans, at least," Adrian continued to prod her.

Edith's eyes widened, and she looked Adrian dead in the eyes when she explained, "Well no. Like I said, everything happened last minute, and I didn't want anyone to fret." She breathed deeply and looked almost pleadingly at Adrian hoping he would understand and let her be. "I can take care of myself, you know," she said with gentle sternness.

Adrian smiled broadly at her and continued, "Of course." He reached out for her hands and held them tightly between his own, the beads clinked quietly together, as he leaned over and spoke low and gently into her ear, "I only meant that I wish you would include me more in your life." He squeezed her hands gently and released them as he watched her avert her gaze and look almost ashamed. "Please, be safe and have fun," he told her with a kind smile as he brushed back her hair. "If you need me for anything at all, our tent is on the east side, number 67," he told her.

Edith smiled meekly and thanked him with anxiousness in her voice. She placed the necklaces back on the table she'd found them on and her, Ginny, Fred, and George started to walk away, but before Fred could duck out, Adrian grasped him quickly and firmly by the forearm. Fred turned slowly to address Adrian with impatience in his eyes. "Do you mind?" he asked rather annoyed at Adrian's boldness.

"I do, actually," Adrian confessed as he looked him unblinkingly in the eyes. Adrian released Fred's arm and wiped his hands on his pants with a sneer on his face.

"I've been watching you, you know," he said almost threateningly. "Last term, something happened between you two, and she hasn't been the same since," he tested. "Neither have you. I've seen the way you look at her," he said knowingly, his eyes piercing Fred's like hot needles.

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked sharply.

"I'm not stupid. Edith was never at Lavender's, was she?" he asked.

"I don't see why it's any of your business where Edith has been," Fred responded quickly.

"Oh, but it is my business," Adrian said with a poisonous smile spilling across his ever calming face.

"Enlighten me," Fred said. "Why is it your business?"

Adrian laughed pompously, "She hasn't told you?"

Fred didn't respond to his taunting, and instead stared at Adrian until he shrugged his shoulders. "Edith and I are engaged to be married," he said placidly and matter-of-factly.

Fred's narrowed eyes became saucers as he listened to Adrian. "Our parents signed a legal agreement years ago securing our marriage to each other. Our families have been planning our wedding since we were thirteen," he said. "And in just a little over 2 years from now, we'll be married," he revealed smiling condescendingly all the while.

"What is this? The Middle Ages?" Fred asked completely stunned chuckling a little at the ridiculousness of it all. "You're lying," he said. "You can't do that to a person," he said almost breathlessly. He couldn't really understand what Adrian was saying. How could people dictate another person's life in such a way? How was the government getting away with such medieval practices?

"I knew you wouldn't understand," Adrian remarked as he examined Fred's exasperation. "Your family no longer holds to the standards most try desperately to achieve. You've all begun to mingle with filth," he spat. "Most respectable families would kill for a lineage like yours, you know. This is what we must resort to in order to keep wizarding blood as pure as possible," he explained. "Don't get me wrong. I've no objections to marrying her," Adrian emphasized, "In fact, I do care for her very much." He walked over to the table where Edith discarded the beaded necklace. "Though she is headstrong and rebellious. She always has been, so it's not like I didn't expect her to fight back a little, but I know Edith," he declared. "She always sees reason and does what she's told, in the end," he said as walked by Fred and bought the beads from the squat and balding vendor in the back of the tent.

Fred watched Adrian closely as he went about his business. For some reason, Fred couldn't shake the irritation he felt toward Adrian.

Adrian marched assertively toward him, beads in hand. He held them out to Fred, "A gift for Edith," he said as he dropped them into his outstretched hand. Fred sneered at them hanging in his palm and slipping between his fingers. "Tell her they're from you, if you like. I don't care," he stated. Adrian lifted his eyes from the beads and looked at Fred calculatingly.

"You know, you'll never give her the life she deserves, don't you?" he said without a hint of emotion on his face for the first time.

Fred closed his hand tightly around the necklaces and blew hot air out of his nostrils. He looked down at the shining beads and thought quietly to himself as Adrian stared at him, waiting for a reaction. "If you know Edith so well, you'd know she wanted more than anything to come to the match today," he said confidently. "And you're right," he almost whispered, "I probably won't ever be able to give her what she deserves." Fred looked up at Adrian, his hair spilling over his forehead and shading his intense eyes. "But," he continued quietly still, "I could give her what she needs."

Adrian looked surprised at Fred's words, and for the first time, Fred saw nervousness in his eyes. "You barely know her," Adrian argued.

"You don't know her either, mate," Fred contended. "Are we done?" He asked with an edge to his voice.

Adrian didn't make a sound but motioned for Fred to take his leave.

He watched as Fred disappeared and listened as he heard Edith's concerned voice from just the other side of the thin fabric.

"Is everything ok? You look a little shaken?" she asked fretting over him. Adrian was sure they were touching again, he just knew it. He pressed his palms into his eye sockets firmly as he listened to them fade away.

"Dammit," he whispered to himself.

"Are you done, lad? The match is starting, you know?" the vendor called to him. "I'm closing up, so best get going," he said shooing him.

Adrian smoothed back his hair and composed himself as he left the tent. Outside, the night air was much cooler, and he breathed deeply as he walked the path to the stadium alone.

Later that evening, Ireland had won the World Cup. Edith was entirely enchanted by the spectacle. Even the otherworldly beauty of the Veela women couldn't hold a candle to the kind of beautiful Edith was that night as she cheered on Ireland from their perch in the stands. Her cheeks were stained a marvelous crimson as she called out in exhilaration. Her eyes were brimming with the waters of youth as the wind stung them at the top of the stands. Her ever loosening hair, all wild and springy in the humid summer air, reflected bits of light creating a shimmering halo about her jovial face. Though Adrian's words echoed still in his mind, Fred couldn't help but see Edith as a force all her own with the world at her feet.

* * *

 **A/N**

Hello everyone! I know it's been forever. I humbly apologize. I haven't forgotten about you! I'm already progressing on the next chapter, though it may be another 2 weeks before I publish. I am just starting classes for fall semester, but I seem to have gotten my inspiration back for this particular story. Please review! I am in need of a little encouragement. It has been awhile and it's partly because I go through long bouts of depression. Not looking for sympathy. I have a good life, it's just something that runs in my family. But words of encouragement help immensely! Anonymous or otherwise, I appreciate them all. Thank you to those who have reviewed, favorited, and followed! I can't thank you enough.

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


	9. Chapter 9

**Rated T: mild language and violence**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9**

"By how much unexpected, by so much we must awake endeavor for defense; For courage mounteth with occasion." _-_ Shakespeare's _King John_

Edith was running. Her feet hit the ground like hammers on an anvil, pounding the earth beneath as her body fled the chaos. The night air was full of smoke and the haunting screams of sheer panic. Time seemed to be slowed and her every clumsy move brought her closer and closer to the gaping jaws of peril. Each breath seemed a heavy burden in her chest unable to replenish her agility with each inhale. Her throat burned in protest, and her muscles clenched in distress. Try as they might, her eyes fell in and out of focus as the searing light of lethal curses shot through the night like fireworks astray. The adrenaline running within her veins spurred her on but at the cost of a shakiness in her limbs and a dullness in her brain, each decision and consequence more delayed than the next. Right or left? Friend or foe?

Despite the turmoil spread before her, mere hours before, the night had been a wonderland of adventure and no hint of danger detected.

After their meeting with Adrian, Fred acted curiously. A new expression graced his face every time he looked at Edith. She couldn't place the expression, but it seemed a bit melancholy to her. Fred assured her that nothing had happened between the boys but a civil conversation as to her wellbeing, though Edith doubted it had been that simple. Her worries were abated once the match began though, and they remained an afterthought for the rest of the night.

Edith watched the match with unparalleled excitement and suspense. With each successful play, she rejoiced with Fred at her side. Many times, Fred held tight to her hand and raised their linked arms as they cheered together in the bright lights of the stadium. Their voices called out into the wind in exhilaration. Though she was one of thousands in the crowd that night, Fred made her feel as if the whole spectacle, the entire event, was put on just for her.

Later, back in the tent, they sat alone together in the bunk room where Fred asked her a thousand and one questions except for the one he truly wanted to ask.

"What's your middle name?"

"Favorite color?"

"What do you like to do when you're sad?"

"Who would you like to meet, dead or living?"

"How do you like your tea?"

"Do you like children?"

"Best memory of your childhood?"

Edith felt as if she were being interviewed for one of Rita Skeeter's headliners. There was something sentimental about the whole thing. Fred smiled the entire time, but in truth, he wanted to know everything he could about her before she was stolen from him, though she never really was his to begin with it seemed.

After the night he had given her, Edith graciously answered him with honesty. "Fred, thank you," she said sweetly to him before he could ask another question. "I've never had so much fun in my whole life," she confessed. Her eyes were swimming with gratitude and admiration.

"What are friends for?" he replied humbly.

The others could be heard laughing and clamoring about as they celebrated the result of the match across the tent. Edith looked through the doorway at them wrestling about, her expression wistful.

"You miss your grandmother, don't you?" he asked her softly. "You would've been with her right now?"

Edith closed her eyes as her heart twisted painfully in her chest. "Yes," she replied as she tucked her head against her raised knees. "I miss her very much," she whispered. "Nights like this, we'd be drinking chamomile tea with milk and listening to her favorites on the radio or sitting out on the lawn under blankets while we sang old duet pieces her and my grandfather wrote together," she reminisced out loud with somber tones in her voice. "My grandfather was a musician. He called her his gift from the muses," she said with a small smile. "He played the violin and grandmother sang, not professionally, but it was beautiful all the same," she continued while looking somewhere far in the distance. "He died when I was ten. Sometimes, I think his songs were the only thing that kept her sane," she admitted, her eyes glistening.

"And you," Fred said.

"What?" she asked in confusion as she turned to look at him.

"You helped keep her sane too. You helped her keep your grandfather alive," he explained.

"Maybe so," she replied as she rested her chin against her knees in his direction.

"You could come and stay with us again next summer, if you like," he told her. "Mum and dad love you, and so does everyone else. You're always welcome," he informed her.

Edith's somber expression remained even after his invitation, and she sighed to herself. Before she could find the words to reply to him, the sound of a great explosion blasted through the camp ground too loud to be fireworks.

Edith and Fred flinched and locked eyes with each other at the clamor. An uneasiness overtook Edith and her body felt the first twinges of adrenaline. The moments after were incredibly brief as Mr. Weasley instructed them to make their way back to the portkey across the campground. There was no need for him to tell them they were in danger, the screams outside the tent told them that already. Edith's heart was pounding against her ribs as they hastily left the tent and ran off into the fray with no other words than Mr. Weasley's frightened voice: "Stick together!"

Fred grabbed tightly to her arm, so tightly that it ached under the pressure of his own. As he ran he drug her along with him, his strides nearly double hers. Frantic bodies ran around them and smashed into them as they all tried like ants to escape a flooding ant hill. It was impossible to stay together in the panic of the crowd continuously pulling them apart and changing like a turbulent current at sea. With every second, Mr. Weasley and the others grew farther and farther away until they were completely out of sight.

"Fred, they're gone!" she yelled as she looked up at him with horror in her eyes. The whole place was ablaze and great heaps of smoke rose from the tents darkening the sky even further. Edith thought she'd been dropped into hell as screams and shrieks ripped through the night air and blistered her ears.

Fred halted but a second to try and discern where they were in respect to the portkey, but it was just long enough for them to be caught in the debris of a powerful blast. The debris flew about them scraping them and colliding with them. Edith heard a loud crack as the rubble flew into Fred's right leg. He let go of Edith and fell hard to the ground as he cried out in pain. He writhed as he lay there in torment. He couldn't hold still even though any bit of movement only worked to worsen the pain. His breathing was frantic and his eyes were like that of a cornered mouse. His jaw was taut and his knuckles white as he held to his broken leg.

"Fred!" Edith screamed in sheer horror as she dropped to her knees beside him. "Fred, what do I do?" She was afraid to touch him.

"Run!" Fred cried through gritted teeth. "Run!"

Edith jumped to her feet and looked frantically about her. The source of the explosion, a masked and hooded figure in black was moving swiftly toward them. Everything inside her screamed for her to flee, but she couldn't. Edith bent down quickly at Fred's shoulders and she grasped him under his arms. She started tugging Fred's body toward the forest in the distance that she could just barely see through the smoke. The Death Eater picked up his pace as he realized she was trying to escape.

"Let go!" Fred cried. "He's going to kill you!" His voice was broken and garbled as he worked to communicate through the pain. He screamed out with every step she took. "He's going to kill you!"

Suddenly, the figure was two bus lengths away. Edith saw as he raised his wand and pointed it directly at her. She didn't have time to think and dropped Fred quickly from her hands. She nimbly pulled her wand from her waistband and blocked a silent spell. The force of the attack blew her hair back. Fred was adamantly protesting as best he could as she forced her jittery legs to take her in front of Fred.

The Death Eater prepared for a duel as he watched Edith take a defensive stance in front of the boy's helpless body. Edith strained her eyes as she scrutinized the enemy's every move. Suddenly, a barrage of spells bust forth from his wand. With each spell, he stepped closer and closer to Edith. Edith worked quickly to deftly subdue the incoming spells. As she watched the figure close the space between them, she began casting offensive spells and curses of her own praying that one of them would make it through his defense.

Fred had given up on convincing Edith to leave him. Instead, he called desperately to his family. "George!" he shrieked through the pain. "Dad!"

The crowd had parted around them when the Death Eater appeared. Everyone desperately avoided the scene not wanting to be killed themselves, and others were already busy defending their loved ones from more agents of terror that night. They were utterly alone in the fight.

Stun! Guard! Hex! Spell after spell flew between them, but none had inhibited his predatory march. Edith stood sentinel over Fred even as she came face to face with the hooded figure. Fred watched her bravely stand in the face of sure defeat without ever submitting. Her wand slung curse after curse at the significantly skilled wizard before her until he heard an ominous voice from behind the mask say, "Crucio!"

Edith's defensive stance crumpled as her body fell to the ground and writhed in utter torment. Fred heard sounds escape her beautiful rosy lips he never thought he'd hear except in the very depths of hell. Fred called more and more desperately until he his throat burned like fire and his voice failed him. How long had she been under the curse? Seconds? Minutes? Fred had already reached for his wand, but it wasn't on him. He looked about him and spotted it several feet away. It felt more like miles and miles as Fred rolled himself over and began dragging himself toward his wand. The pain took his very breath from his lungs as he lurched forward. His stomach turned and the threat of vomit took hold of him.

He heard Edith gasp as the curse was released and the Death Eater trained his gaze on him instead. _That's right_ , he thought. _Look at me, you bastard._ The figure sent a spell at his wand and made it fly farther away. Fred never turned back but he heard the figure from behind him begin the curse anew, this time his wand on Fred. "Cruc-," but the pain never came.

Edith held fast to her own wand even through the torture of the curse. Her fingernails bit deep bloody gauges in her palms around the wand. Her consciousness surfaced from the effects of the curse, and she immediately began her assault on the Death Eater again as he aimed for Fred.

She was still on her back laying in the dirt when she flicked a spell at the enemy. He stepped by her and quickly dodged the stun as he planted his booted foot on Edith's wrist and suppressed her attack. Edith screeched in protest as he added increasingly more pressure to her wrist.

The Death Eater toyed with Edith as Fred struggled to find his wand. He took her braided hair in his gloved hand and used it like a rope as he pulled her body from the ground and slammed her back to the earth. Edith gasped as she hit the dirt. "You're a tough one, eh?" he whispered in her ear, still holding her captive by her chestnut colored hair. "How about you beg me for mercy, and I'll make it quick for yah? I won't even make you watch as I murder your boyfriend either, hm? That sounds nice, dunnit?"

Edith raised her eyes to meet the black holes of his masked face as she hissed, "Never."

The Death Eater jerked her up from the ground and held his wand to her temple as he yelled into her ear, "Say buhbye, love!" He pulled his wand from her and pointed at Fred's back. With what little strength she had left in her wrist, Edith pointed her wand quickly at her braid and screamed, "Diffindo!"

The Death Eater hollered out in pain as the spell severed not only her braid but several of his fingers too. Edith jumped away from him, took her wand in her left hand, and began the duel anew. Her body ached with the lingering of the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. She was stiff and exhausted, but she urged her limbs to move despite her distress.

"Fred!" she heard in the distance. "Edith!"

Mr. Weasley and George charged in like lions out of the smoke. Mr. Weasley stood side by side with Edith as they left the wounded Death Eater one choice, retreat. They didn't watch him flee, instead they hurriedly turned back to help George lift Fred onto Mr. Weasley's back and get him to safety.

* * *

 **A/N  
**  
Happy 1 year to Playing the Fool!

I know it kind of seems like I rushed a bit through the action here, but what I'm trying to convey is how it all seemed to Edith. To her, the events that night feel something more like a dream. It's unreal to her. She feels slightly detached from herself the whole time she's fighting the Death Eater. She pushes away her feelings, her fear, in order to protect Fred. Of course, she was utterly terrified, and she can't believe she had the courage to do something so brave and dangerous. As I wrote this chapter, I made it sound as if someone were reliving a dream or nightmare. I promise, the next chapter will further their increasingly complicated relationship and be much longer. I just couldn't hook this part in comfortably with the next part.

I hope you guys enjoyed seeing a different side of Edith.

I also wanted to thank those who have taken the time to submit a review. I humbly and graciously thank you all. To the guest review about the combination of song and story making you cry, I'm so very glad you let me know you had such strong feelings because of my writing. My very goal is to convey emotion in such a way. I honestly wanted to cry at the fact that you cried (happy tears, of course). Thank you!

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

"Who could refrain that had a heart to love and in that heart courage to make love known?" –Shakespeare's _Macbeth_

Fred's room was full of mid-afternoon sunlight coaxing him to wake from a deep sleep as it lit the underside of his tired eyelids a cheery orange. He peeked open his left eye, his ginger eyelashes shimmering in the luminous rays of the sun like polished copper, and blinked rapidly as his ochre eyes adjusted. He wiggled uncomfortably beneath his blanket as he realized his leg was still in a splint. He began turning over to heave his heavy leg off the bed and remove it, but the sight of Edith sleeping peacefully in his bedside chair halted him.

The chair cradled her tiny frame like a mother's arms. Her legs were tucked between the arm rest and her body and her knees rested beside her on the back of the chair. She sat like that often, Fred recalled. Her hair, now so short that it just barely grazed her shoulders, was springy and a little wild from sleeping on it wet after a shower. Her mouth was parted slightly as she breathed evenly and slowly from it. She was the image of an innocent babe, so different from what Fred had seen just the night before.

Not wanting to disturb her, he rested his head back onto his pillows and waited for her to rouse from her dreams. He watched her for the better part of an hour before she showed signs of waking. Edith opened her eyes and found Fred wide awake next her.

"Sleep well?" he asked with a quirky smile on his face.

Edith jumped a little at the exchange, she thought she was dreaming. She couldn't remember falling asleep in the chair. Her legs, neck, and back were a bit stiff as she began stretching. She was a little embarrassed at being found sleeping in such a way.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep here," she replied. Edith sat next to Fred most of the night after she'd prepared for bed. Fred was already asleep when she came in to check on him. She couldn't find it in her to leave his bedside as she watched painful expressions take over his sleeping face. Whether it be nightmares or the pain from his leg, she didn't want him to suffer alone. When he looked particularly uncomfortable, she rubbed his hair just as Mrs. Weasley had when Mr. Weasley and George splinted his leg and she gave him the Skel-O-Grow to mend it, helping him through the pain. She shushed him gently from time to time and hummed a few of her grandfather's melodies to him. He slept much more comfortably after his subconscious registered that he was not alone.

Sometime between three and four in the morning, Edith had found herself reveling in the idea of actually never leaving him which scared her immensely, almost more than the Death Eater who nearly killed them. Edith knew it was all just fantasy, but her heart didn't know the difference. With her feelings growing stronger and stronger for Fred every day, Edith realized she would have to quell the feelings between them before they haunted her for the rest of her life.

Everyone had slept away the morning, and they were all just eating the first meal of the day that afternoon still groggy and shaken from the night before. Mrs. Weasley took Edith aside after the meal, and with tears in her eyes, she kissed Edith right on the forehead. Mr. Weasley and Fred told her how bravely she fought to save their lives even in the face of an Unforgiveable Curse, and Mrs. Weasley bawled her eyes out as she thanked her fervently and held her in a deep embrace. Edith was humble about the whole thing, explaining that anyone with a good heart would've done the same, but it was a terrible lie. In fact, as she fought the Death Eater, even as he tortured her, she knew she had to save Fred even if it meant her dying because this world needed him alive. She needed him alive. He was unequivocally and entirely worthy of living, and Edith would do anything to make sure he lived to see his dreams come true even if it meant she wasn't there to see it. And she wouldn't be. Even though she was alive, she wouldn't be part of his life or his dreams, and she was about to make sure of it.

Fred was making his way back to his room to finish packing his belongings in preparation for their departure to Hogwarts when Edith grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Fancy a broom ride?" she asked with something like sadness in her voice.

Fred looked at her curiously. "Er, sure," he replied a little hesitantly. "Everythin' alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," Edith reassured him as she held onto him and helped him hobble their way through the house and out to the shed. "Lovely day, hm?" she asked trying to shoo away the strange silence between them.

"Yeah, beautiful," Fred said with sarcasm in his voice. "But, I'm having a hard time believing you brought me out here to talk about the weather," he said letting his suspicions be known.

Fred let go of her and turned to face her. "You want to make more small talk or do you want to just get to the point, eh?" he asked. Edith didn't hear any hostility or anger in his voice, just a simple yearning for the truth.

"I should never have come to see you this summer," Edith said suddenly. The words sounded harsh, but Edith couldn't keep them from him anymore or else she'd never find the courage to say them. Edith was having a hard time finding the words, everything was so contradictory as to what she felt and what she thought was the right thing to do. "I know, if I hadn't, you might be dead now, so I'm glad I was here because you're alive because of it, but I can't-," she stopped suddenly. _I can't let myself keep falling in love with you_ , she thought. "I can't visit you next summer, or ever again really," she said, her heart wrenching inside her chest as she finally addressed Fred's invitation from the night before.

"Why not?" he asked with a face masked from emotion.

"Because my life isn't my own," she said, her voice cracking. "There's something I should've told you by now," she continued uneasily. Why was it so hard? It's not like he was in love with her. It's not like she was in love with him. There was nothing there but the feelings of two children rebelling against fate in vain. Their feelings were spurred by the human ambition to defy fate, not by anything else. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

Fred watched her through squinted eyes, a frown planted deeply on his face. Adrian's words tumbled through his thoughts, "She always sees reason and does what she's told, in the end." Fred had hoped he was wrong, but his words were playing out right in front of him.

"Adrian and I, we're-," she began, but Fred interrupted her quickly. "I know," he said firmly.

Edith jerked her gaze toward him. "What?" she asked breathlessly.

"I know about the agreement," he replied. "I know your family loathes mine. I know you have a lot to lose over voiding the contract," he continued. With a look of shame he said, "I know that tomorrow when we board the train, you'll sit with Adrian instead of me. I know that when I wave to you in class or pass you by in the halls, you'll smile back at me and walk right by." Fred looked at her. She was stricken by surprise and anguish at the confession. "I know," he said again.

"If you knew you shouldn't have come this summer, why did you?" he inquired.

Edith sucked in a deep breath as she realized how much she was hurting, and she wondered if Fred felt the same way. "I don't know," she sighed.

"Do you pity me, Edith?" Fred asked as he watched her attentively.

Edith looked surprised at the question. "Why would you ask such a thing?" she shot at him. "And you? Is that why you asked me here? Out of pity?" Edith questioned him forcefully.

"I know I'm a wreck. I know my life isn't what I had hoped it would be, but I'm making the best of it I can. I wish my family were more like yours, but they're not, and I can't change that," she confessed. "Listen, I'm not sorry I came. I'm really glad I did, in fact. You're alive, and I have memories that will stay with me until the day I die," she said with tears in her eyes. "I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful to have met you and your family," she continued as her hot tears fell to the ground. "Do you hate me?" she asked genuinely.

"For what?" Fred asked. "We knew what we were getting ourselves into, and I suppose I've expected you to do this the whole time really. I mean, I asked for it, didn't I?" he pondered out loud. "Who could ever hope a bloke like me would end up with a girl like you?" Fred asked with sarcasm in his voice again as he recited the cliché.

"What do you mean?" Edith asked almost stupidly.

"You're fooling yourself, Edith," Fred told her with blame in his voice. "I-," he started and stuttered. "I haven't stopped thinking about you since the night you strapped me to that damn toilet, to be honest," he blurted out. "I'm not mad at you. I don't hate you. I'm fairly certain I'm in love with you actually," he confessed with a bit of a grin.

The threat of tears encroached upon her again as she listened to Fred say exactly what she hoped he wouldn't. His sad grin hurt her worse than the Cruciatus Curse ever could.

"I knew this was going to happen from the start," he told her honestly. "I guess I've been fooling myself too, but I told you from the beginning, I am whatever you need me to be, so if you need me to be gone, then that's that," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't love me, you don't even know me," she defended. She wanted him to be angry with her. She wanted him to blame her. She wanted him to hate her, because if he hated her, she could be okay with letting go of him.

"Don't I?" he asked quickly.

"I don't even know who I really am, so how could you?" she asked pointedly.

"I know who you are, Edith Amelia Ainsley. You were named after your grandmother, born February twenty-second. Your favorite color is lilac. You hum your grandparents' songs when you're sad," he continued.

"That doesn't mean anything," she nearly yelled.

Fred continued in spite of her, "You like chamomile tea with milk and honey. You were scared to fly a broom, but you love quidditch. You pretend to be what everyone else thinks you should be to make friends and please everyone but yourself, but in reality you don't hold onto those people because they don't even know who you really are."

"Stop it!" she said as she began to cry again.

"You're the only girl that's ever tricked me into walking willingly into a revenge prank. You're the girl that almost died to save my life," he said confidently.

"You're a fool, Fred Weasley," she argued quietly as she wiped her face and turned away from him in shame.

"Maybe I am," he said, "but at least I'm not lying to myself."

With that, Fred left her standing there in the yard. He watched her from his bedroom window as she sat there by the shed and hid her face in her hands. He imagined she was humming by then, but he couldn't do anything about it. This was what she wanted. The more Fred interfered, the more painful it would be for them both, and he knew that.

The next day, they boarded the train back to Hogwarts. Edith said her goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley knowing it would be the last time she ever saw them again. They were ignorant of all that happened between her and Fred the day before, and as they watched the two of them board the train together, they secretly hoped that next summer she'd come back as Fred's girlfriend.

Fred and Edith had barely spoken since their confrontation, and once they walked through the doors of the Hogwarts Express that September morning, they went their separate ways. Their compartment doors sliding shut with a "click" and just like that, they resigned themselves to living without the other as best they could.

* * *

 **A/N**

In celebration of PTF's first anniversary, here's another chapter!

I can't seem to stop myself. I should definitely be working on my assignments, but here I am posting another chapter. Most all of my chapters run from 2,000 to about a max of 5,000 words. I had a few comments about the last chapter being a hair short, but really it averages the same as 80% of the story. My longest chapters being 4 and 5, I think. I apologize if they feel short, but as a fanfic reader myself, I enjoy stories that are a bit more condensed. I'm also working on a plot outline for a part 2 to this story, in case anyone was wondering.

The Yule Ball is coming, by the way, which means drama and angst and lovely bits of romance. So for those who are looking for longer chapters, be on the lookout for a 4,000 to 5,000 word chapter in the works coming soon!

As always, I can't thank you enough for your support.

Happy reading,

 _A Lonely Silhouette_


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